A woman who was allegedly raped by three men in a hotel car park said she was in shock the following day and “couldn't believe what had happened”.
The offences are alleged to have occurred on December 20th, 2017, at a hotel car park in the Leinster area. The woman was 17 at the time.
The first defendant (22) has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault. A second defendant (23) has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, one count of oral rape and two counts of sexual assault. The third defendant (22) has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape and one count of oral rape.
On the third day of the trial at the Central Criminal Court, the complainant told Alice Fawsitt SC, prosecuting, on Wednesday that the car was driven to the reception area following the alleged incident.
She said she was in the car along with the first and third defendants.
She added she then got into another car, which contained the three defendants, her friend and another person. The complainant said she was not initially aware that the car had stopped at two petrol stations, but then realised “they were trying to get cigarettes”.
She said she was in “shock” when she was in the car at the petrol station. She said she thought she might have got out of the car at the first petrol station, but was not sure. The complainant also said she could not remember if there were other people or cars at the petrol station.
I couldn’t believe what had happened.
The complainant said she was dropped off from the car, then walked ten minutes to a friend's house where she used the toilet.
“I was afraid I was bleeding,” she said, adding that she found she was not bleeding but “there was fluid coming out”.
The complainant said she then went for a walk with her friend, before returning home, where her parents and a sibling were in the kitchen. She said hello, then went to her room. She said she left her clothes in the bathroom.
The complainant said she felt “shocked”, adding, “I couldn’t believe what had happened.”
She said she didn't sleep that night and went to a pharmacy the next day when she got the morning-after pill. The complainant said she was supposed to go to work, but was not able to as she could not stop crying.
She texted her boss to say she had a stomach bug, then turned her phone off and spent the day in a friend's house.
She said her mother called her later in the day as she was worried about her. The complainant said she went home that night.
The complainant confirmed to Ms Fawsitt that her mother later made an appointment for her at a sexual assault treatment unit.
The witness said she wanted to make a complaint to gardaí, but didn't until December 27th as she was “afraid”.
She confirmed to Ms Fawsitt that she gave her clothes from the night in question to gardaí. She said she carried out searches on Facebook, then gave various names to gardaí.
The trial continues before Ms Justice Melanie Greally 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.
In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
