Unnamed man pleads not guilty to rape charge in Dublin

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

A man who cannot be named for legal reasons has pleaded not guilty to rape at the Central Criminal Court, reported on 14 October 2016. The alleged offence occurred at an apartment in Dublin in the early hours of 28 September 2008.

A psychiatrist specialising in sleep disorders told the trial that the accused had a history of sleepwalking, night terrors and sexsomnia. She said the alleged rape was more likely to have been an episode of sleep sex, while accepting that the allegation concerned a serious violation and that the complainant had not consented. The trial continued before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury.