A doctor has told the trial of four men accused of raping a teenage girl “one after another” that findings from a medical examination of the girl were consistent with the possibility of non-consensual intercourse.
The four men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have all pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the then 17-year-old girl at a location in the midlands on December 27th, 2016.
The first accused (22) has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment. The second accused (24) has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault, one count of oral rape and one count of false imprisonment.
The third accused (24) has also pleaded not guilty to an additional count of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment. The fourth accused (23) has also pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault.
All of the offending is alleged to have been committed at various locations in the midlands on the same date against the same woman when the accused were aged between 17 and 19.
'One after another'
It is the prosecution's case that the complainant got into a car with the men in the early hours of the morning and was driven to a location where the four accused and a fifth man not before the courts raped her “one after another”.
Giving evidence on Monday, a local doctor told Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, that she performed an examination on the complainant when she attended at a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) on December 27th, 2016.
The doctor said the objective of a SATU is to provide holistic care to people who have made allegations of sexual assault to gardaí and to obtain forensic evidence for gardaí. She said she had conducted hundreds of these type of examinations.
She said that during her examination of the complainant, approximately five hours after the alleged incidents took place, she found there were two bruises on her right knee cap as well as dirt mark discolouration on both of her calves.
The doctor said she took swabs of the complainant's genitals, for the purpose of seeking bodily fluids or “effectively any DNA”, and added that the complainant's clothes were also taken for examination.
She said her conclusion was that the findings of recent trauma were consistent with the possibility of non-consensual sexual intercourse.
The trial continues before Justice Tara Burns and a 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. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
