A jury which convicted a man of drugging and raping his then partner's 15-year-old sister and later sexually abusing another, along with choking that victim's friend when he tried to stop the attack, were concerned they had been photographed by a man believed to have been "associated with the defence" during the trial, the Court of Appeal has heard.
Lawyers for Stephen Lynch (33), who has launched a bid to overturn his conviction, told the appeal court that gardaí retrieved a suspect phone but no photos were found. The court also heard that a guard was later posted to the car park where the incident occurred.
Lynch, with an address at Marian Place, Tullamore, Co Offaly, was convicted by a jury following a Central Criminal Court trial in May 2021 of one count of rape at this then address of Monksfield, Bealnamulla, Athlone, Co Roscommon, between October 17th and 18th, 2015.
Lynch raped his then-partner's teenage sister after she came to see his newborn baby. In July 2021, the Central Criminal Court heard that around two months later, Lynch sexually assaulted another of his then-partner's younger sisters and also attacked this victim's friend.
He was further convicted by the jury on counts of sexual assault and assault causing harm at the same address between December 18th and 19th, 2015.
Lynch had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has 11 previous convictions, including convictions for assault, threatening and abusive behaviour, intoxication in a public place and no insurance.
Eileen O'Leary SC, prosecuting, told the court that the victims in this case wish to waive their anonymity and want the accused man to be named.
Sergeant Paul McNally told Ms O'Leary that in October 2015, Lena Maughan (23) attended at the then address of the accused in order to see her sister's newborn baby.
Sgt McNally said Ms Maughan's sister was away from the apartment that night. Ms Maughan had a headache and Lynch gave her two tablets, after which she felt dizzy and like she was drunk.
Lynch brought a mattress into the living room and told her to lie down, also giving her two further tablets. After a few minutes he started taking off her clothes, got on top of her and raped her.
Sgt McNally said that in December 2015, Romany Maughan and her friend Cody Dunne stayed over at the same address in order to see the baby. After the baby fell asleep, Ms Maughan decided to go to bed.
Lynch came into the bedroom and began pulling at her legs. She told him to leave and he did after Mr Dunne also came in and was asked by Ms Maughan to get into the bed beside her to protect her. Lynch then tried to put his hand on her vagina and kiss her on the lips while she was telling him to stop.
After Mr Dunne prevented him from touching Ms Maughan, Lynch jumped over her, put both knees on Mr Dunne's chest and started choking the victim.
Jury
At the Court of Appeal, Michael Bowman SC, for Lynch, argued that the jury in the case should have been discharged after issues arose including an allegation that the jury had been photographed, along with testimony from Mr Dunne that he had previously heard "stories" about Lynch.
Counsel also submitted that the three cases should have been severed and tried separately.
Counsel said that, in his evidence, Mr Dunne said he knew about Lynch from stories he "heard about" Lynch before he was cut off by counsel at the trial.
Mr Dunne was answering questions as to why he said he felt "afraid" to stay in the house on the night but was assured by Romany that things "would be grand".
Mr Bowman said this should have resulted in the discharge of the jury because it "strains credulity" that they could have been positive stories.
Mr Bowman said it was "nothing positive or preferable", and that it "must strike to the character" of Lynch.
Separately, Mr Bowman said that there had been an issue at the trial when the jury alerted the judge to their concern that they had been photographed by a witness in the case upon arrival in the car park.
At the trial, the defence raised an issue regarding its belief the photos complained of by the jury were taken by a man associated with the defence. The defence then unsuccessfully asked the jury to be discharged.
Counsel said gardaí had taken the phone off the witness and found no photos, but Mr Bowman said the Garda action was "not done when there are no concerns".
Transcripts
Counsel also said that the judge's response to a jury request to have trial transcripts read back to them was insufficient because he refused a defence application to have additional transcripts also read back for context.
"The jury required particular material and unless you give the additional material then you have not done what you have been asked, and who suffers? The defendant." said Mr Bowman.
Ms O'Leary SC, for the State, said Cody Dunne's remark about why he wanted to leave the house was a "passing comment" that was not referred to again in the trial and was not prejudicial enough to warrant the discharge of a jury.
Regarding the jury's belief they were being photographed, Ms O'Leary said the judge asked the jury to raise the issue if there was one and was told the matter was resolved by them moving to a different car park.
"He specifically asked if they had concerns. The matter was resolved. A guard was posted in the car park from then on. Nobody indicated anything else occurred," Ms O'Leary said.
Counsel said that, regarding the request for additional information to be included with the re-read transcripts, the defence was trying to "complete a re-run of the cross-examination" which was an "attempt to test or challenge the credibility of Lena Maughan".
"It was dealt with, all the matters, and a decision was made. The jury didn't ask for anything more," counsel said.
Regarding the issue of separate trials, Ms O'Leary said the two sex assaults were similar in nature, the assault on Mr Dunne could not be isolated and that both the assault and the rape of Lena had a choking element involved.
Appeal court judge Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the court would reserve judgement in the case.
The Central Criminal court heard that Lynch joined the army for a five-year period, during which he spent seven months in Lebanon. He is the father of two children with the sister of the sexual offence victims but had no relevant previous convictions.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice David Keane said the rape offence was aggravated by the victim being 15 and the accused being a mature adult, that the offence was accomplished in part by drugging her and in part by force, and that it has caused considerable harm to the victim.
Justice Keane said there is no credit available for a plea of guilty and the accused continues to deny the offences. He said Lynch has not displayed any remorse, made any apology nor undergone any rehabilitation.
He sentenced Lynch to eight years and nine months imprisonment for the rape offence, having reduced a sentence of nine years to account for the three months the accused man spent in custody previously.
Justice Keane also sentenced Lynch to two years and nine months for both the offence of sexual assault and the offence of assault causing harm, with all sentences to run concurrent to each other.
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.
