Mr A loses appeal against rape conviction

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr A’s appeal against his rape conviction. The proceedings were reported on 8 January 2021. Mr A had been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

The appeal concerned evidence from two witnesses about Ms C’s initial complaints. At trial, the defence objected to Garda Karen Griffin giving that evidence, arguing that it was hearsay because Ms C’s friend, Ms S, had already given recent-complaint evidence. The trial judge allowed Garda Griffin’s evidence.

The report said Ms C gave Garda Griffin a more detailed account than she had given Ms S, including that Mr A had performed oral sex on her. Garda Griffin made no notes of the complaint, and Ms C subsequently denied at a sexual assault treatment unit that oral sex had occurred. The defence argued that whether Ms C had told Garda Griffin about oral sex was a live issue for the jury.

Giving judgment, Mr Justice John Edwards upheld the decision to admit Garda Griffin’s evidence. The court found that the accounts were closely connected in time, were not internally inconsistent and differed in their level of detail. It also rejected Mr A’s arguments about the trial judge’s directions to the jury on the evidence and consent, and upheld the conviction.