Three men left without verdict in Central Criminal Court rape trial

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

Three men were left without verdicts in a Central Criminal Court rape trial on 5 April 2023 after a jury disagreed on all eight counts. They had pleaded not guilty.

The charges were rape and sexual assault for the first defendant; rape, oral rape and two sexual-assault counts for the second; and rape and oral rape for the third. Ms Justice Melanie Greally adjourned the case for mention to 28 April 2023.

The defence argued that there were inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence and that the sexual activity began consensually, while the prosecution case was that the complainant was raped in turn. The alleged offences occurred on 20 December 2017 at a hotel car park in the Leinster area.