Woman denies confusing consensual sex with rape

A woman who was allegedly raped by three Dublin teenagers has rejected a suggestion from lawyers for one of the accused that she confused consensual sex for rape.

The three men, who are now in their early 20s and cannot be named for legal reasons, have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping a woman at Bull Island, Dollymount, Dublin, on January 5th, 2016.

The trial has heard that the then 18-year-old woman was allegedly driven to Dollymount Strand, raped by three men in turn and then left in the middle of nowhere. The three men were all teenagers at the time of the alleged offences.

Under cross-examination on Tuesday, the woman told Caroline Biggs SC, defending one of the men, that in 2011 she made an allegation of sexual assault against another teenager.

She said she was in a care home at the time and was aged around 12 or 13.

She agreed that on April 22nd, 2011 she texted this man, who was older than her, and told him “right, if you want your hole, you’ll have to wait, not my fault, the staff see you out”.

She told Ms Biggs that this was meant he can have sex but would have to wait. She said that two nights earlier she met the man outside the care home. She said he then raped her and that she was not consenting to sex with him at the time.

She told the jury that she did not report the rape to another teenage girl she knew in the home because she was afraid.

“Obviously I am going to be afraid if I am saying someone raped me. That day I was moved out of that care home ‘cos (sic) I was at risk, I was afraid,” she said.

Closing her cross-examination, which began on February 21st , Ms Biggs put it to the witness that the 2011 incident was not rape and that her client also did not rape her.

Ms Biggs put it to the woman that “you have confused rape with consensual sex”.

The complainant replied “no, he raped me, I was raped”.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and a jury.