The jury in the trial of a man accused of raping his wife's friend in a park has started its deliberations.
The Dublin man (55), who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape in September 2019.
It is the prosecution's case that the man raped the woman in a park while he was walking her home following a party at his house. He denies any wrongdoing and says he had a consensual encounter with the woman.
The jury deliberated for around 90 minutes on Tuesday before Mr Justice Tony Hunt told them to suspend their work for the day.
In his directions to the jury, Mr Justice Hunt told them they must use their experience and expertise in “human affairs” during their deliberations.
“This case is about human affairs. Human affairs can't be solved by mathematical equation, they are infinitely more complex,” he said, telling the jury they must adopt a “cold, calculating and logical” approach.
'Trauma'
Earlier, prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane SC asked the jury in his closing speech to look at the woman's evidence, which he suggested “rings true because it is true”.
He noted there is not “a text book or a map” on how people should or do react to “a trauma of that type”.
“She said words to you that no one should have to say – 'I should have fought harder'. She doesn't have to fight harder, but part of her experience is, 'I should have fought harder'.”
Prosecuting counsel pointed to the complainant's reluctance to be walked home by the man, who she had not spoken to in years, and their conversation when they reached the park.
“I suggest everything said is obverse of romance. In fact, it's hostility.”
He said the woman's actions, including washing herself and her clothes after the alleged rape, are “completely understandable from a human perspective”.
He continued that evidence from the woman's friend that she couldn't speak about what had happened is “consistent with someone who has been traumatised by what has happened”.
“It's not someone hollering 'rape' ... she does the opposite. It's her friend who says 'rape' and she says 'don’t say that word'. She can't live with the word.”
He described the man's garda interviews and evidence as a “pick and mix of defences” which does not stand up to analysis. “If you whisper it to a horse, you’d get a kick because it’s so obviously untrue,” counsel said.
Mr Gillane noted people lie for many reasons, but suggested that the accused lied “not just because he's guilty, but because he knows he is”.
He suggested the man's evidence that the night in question was the culmination of a relationship did not correspond with his description of the woman as “some kind of sexual monster”.
“She was raped. The last thing she wanted to do was complain about it, but ultimately, she did.”
'Like a rabbit in headlights'
In his closing speech, defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC told the jury that the “natural reaction of any right-thinking person hearing about an allegation of rape is to identify with the complainant”.
“That's the normal human reaction and no one would criticise that,” he added.
However, he told jurors they must put aside any sympathy or emotion and analyse the evidence “coldly and dispassionately”.
He suggested the only evidence of the alleged rape offered by the prosecution is the complainant's account.
He said the question of consent is central to this case, and “only two people know what happened in that park”.
Mr McGinn noted his client admitted lying to gardaí because he was “like a rabbit in headlights”.
“Last he'd heard on his account, they had met in a car park and agreed to leave what happened in the past. That was his mindset. Then, all of sudden, he is confronted with these allegations.”
Counsel suggested there are reasons why someone may lie, but that does not signify guilt. A lie may also be told to prevent “someone close to them finding out about shameful or immoral behaviour”, Mr McGinn said.
He asked jurors to examine the complainant's evidence about an encounter with the man in a toilet at his house before the alleged rape.
“If there was this history with him, surely it would have been a warning sign to her that he might cause her trouble later,” he said, noting that the woman decided she would walk home alone.
Mr McGinn suggested the woman's behaviour was “unusual” when she got home from the park. He noted that the prosecution might say “people who have been raped may behave in all sorts of ways”, before asking the jury to consider if her decision to wash herself and her clothes was also consistent with someone not wanting their partner to find out about a consensual sexual encounter.
Referring to messages sent by his client to the woman, counsel suggested these messages “don't appear to be texts that one would send to an unwilling participant”.
Text messages
He noted that his client continued to message the woman after the alleged rape.
“If he was someone who had violently raped the complainant in the park, why keep sending her messages? It’s completely inconsistent with having just raped someone that you would continue to make contact with them.”
Mr McGinn also suggested that there was an hour between the timestamp on CCTV footage of the man and the complainant walking and the time her partner said she returned home.
He described this as a “long time” and asked jurors to consider if this “huge amount of time” is “more consistent” with a “protracted consensual encounter in the park” rather than a violent rape.
Mr McGinn put it to the jury that the woman's upset when she went to a friend's house on the Monday after the alleged rape, was also consistent with “someone trying to hide from her partner that she'd had an indiscretion”.
He continued: “These are things that could be reasonably explained as a consensual encounter that she regretted after.”
Defence counsel suggested that the complainant and his client had individually sought “different ways to hide from their partner their own responsibility” for a consensual encounter.
Mr McGinn told the jury that finding his client not guilty does not mean they have decided the woman “is a liar”, but that “there is room for doubt”.
“Maybe this was a couple of consenting adults fooling around after drink (was) taken. I'm not suggesting it's a correct way for parties who are married to behave, but that's what happened,” he said.
The trial continues.
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.
