The second complainant has told the trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting six young men there was “no prelude or context” to the alleged incident.
The 59-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault in relation to this complainant.
The complainant told Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, prosecuting, on Tuesday that he turned 18 in 1991 and started college that September.
He said he knew of the accused man from his home town, but only got to know him better after starting college in Dublin.
The witness said a friend was living in the same house as the accused man and he “crashed” there around five or six times after missing the bus home.
He said the incident occurred during his first year at college, when he stayed at the house on the night in question.
The man said he was sleeping in a t-shirt and boxers on the floor between the single beds used by his friend and the man.
The complainant said he was asleep and woke up to the man performing oral sex on him. He said he “froze” for a few seconds due to shock and because his friend was also in the room.
I didn’t want anyone to find out
“I was very aware if I reacted in any shape or form and caused a scene, everyone would find out. I didn’t want anyone to find out.... I froze while I gathered my thoughts. My thoughts went to how do I stop this without waking [my friend] and causing a scene”.
The complainant said he turned away on to his side and the man “mirrored his movement” before “moving his penis against my back, bottom and hips”.
He said he did not react or say anything and was not sure if the man was aware he was awake. The complainant said the man did not say anything either, and got back into bed afterwards.
Asked by Ms Lawlor if he consented to the sexual interaction, the complainant said: “No, I was asleep.”
He said he could not recall what he did the next day, but said that was the last time he stayed over and he never went back to the house.
He agreed with Ms Lawlor that gardaí approached him, and he made a statement to them in February 2020.
Michael O'Higgins SC, defending the accused, put it to the complainant that the defence claim he was sleeping in the same bed as the man on the night in question.
“Wrong, that did not happen,” the complainant replied.
'Active participant'
Defence counsel said his client's position is that he felt the complainant's penis on his back and took this as an invitation to be “intimate”. He said his client then performed oral sex and believed the complainant to be an “active participant”.
“At no stage did I actively participate in anything. I’m not even sure [the accused man] was aware I was awake, because I didn’t want to create a scene,” the complainant replied.
He accepted he turned away, but did not agree with Mr O'Higgins when he outlined his client's position was that “you changed your mind halfway through”.
He also put it to the complainant that the man did not “rub” against him, but against a mattress. “Not as I recall,” the witness replied.
Mr O'Higgins then read sections of a statement made by a different friend of the complainants, whom he told about the alleged incident.
The witness recalled telling this friend soon afterwards, but said he could not remember some particular details of the conversation.
He noted that he had conversations with several friends, including the one who was sharing a house with the accused man.
Mr O'Higgins suggested to the complainant that his account of that night is incomplete, while suggesting his client's account is “correct”. “That would be wrong”, the complainant said.
Defence counsel then put to the witness that the account he gave to his friend is “much closer to what happened”. He said he accepted what his friend told gardaí, but could not recall if he said those details.
'Different light'
Mr O'Higgins said it was “clearly a very embarrassing incident”, adding that even though “part of you didn't want it to happen”, “I suggest it did happen, and you have recast it in a different light after the event”.
He continued, “we all make decisions we regret” throughout our lives. However, the complainant replied: “I don't see how this is applicable in this situation.”
Mr O'Higgins put it to him that “flowing from what happened, you have recast and put it in a different light” and what he told his friend is closer to what happened.
“I disagree,” he replied.
Ms Lawlor asked the complainant if part of him wanted the interaction to happen.
“None of me wanted this to happen. I was asleep. No part of me at any level wanted this to happen,” he replied. He said there was “no prelude, no context” and “it was completely out of the blue”.
“I simply woke up and encountered [the man] performing oral sex.”
The accused man has pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted anal rape and eight counts of sexual assault on dates between March 1991 and November 1997 at locations in Co Dublin.
The man was in his 30s at the time of the alleged offences, while the complainants were then aged between 17 and 24.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Alexander Owens and the jury.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
