Rape accused admitted having sex with woman 'against her wishes'
A man accused of taking part in the gang rape of a pregnant woman in Monaghan apologised to gardaí for having sex with her “against her wishes” but said he did not rape her.
The alleged victim previously gave evidence that three men laughed and poured vodka on her while she was held down and raped repeatedly.
The first named accused (aged 28), who also lived in the house at the time, is alleged to have falsely imprisoned the woman, raped her and assaulted her and her partner causing them harm.
The second accused (aged 20) is accused of assaulting the couple, causing them harm, falsely imprisoning the woman and raping her.
The third accused (aged 20) is accused of raping her.
The alleged attacks took place between November 19-21, 2010.
All three accused have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the charges before them.
Today, Garda Stephen Kenny gave details of garda interviews with the three accused men, who each had an interpreter present with them at the station.
He told Conor Devally SC, prosecuting, that the first man told gardaí he did not think he was raping the woman at the time, adding: “Maybe I misread her behaviour. I was drunk”.
He said that during the sex she seemed “strange, not frightened, not herself”. He said she was scared because the other men were in the room so he turned the light off.
The court heard that gardaí put it to the accused that the victim had allowed the man to have sex with her because she was afraid, saying: “She was trying to protect her unborn baby. She'd seen what you did to her boyfriend and you'd already slapped her.”
The accused man responded: “I know this. I'm sorry”.
He added: “I'm sorry about the baby. I'm sorry I had sex with her against her wishes. I can't really remember everything about it.”
He told gardaí that he did not rape her.
The second accused told gardaí that on the night of the alleged rape, the men were going to bed in the downstairs bedroom after drinking in the house all day.
He said the first man asked her to come into this bedroom and asked the woman to have sex with all three men. He said the first accused man invited him to have sex with the woman.
The second man told gardaí that the woman asked if all three of them wanted to have sex. He said the woman got on top of the first man while the other men watched.
He said the woman was crying when she left the room but that she asked him to come upstairs and have sex with him in an upstairs bedroom.
Gda Kenny said the first man said he may have told the others they could have sex with the alleged victim at any time, saying: “Maybe I did. I was sexually aroused.”
The trial continues before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury of seven men and five women.
