One of three men accused of raping and sexually assaulting a woman told gardaí he shared two videos he recorded on the night in a group chat “for a laugh”.
The three men, aged between 34 and 42, with addresses in Dublin and Wicklow, have pleaded not guilty to a total of seven counts of rape, oral rape and sexual assault of the woman at an unknown location in a car and in a Dublin house on August 31st, 2019.
The men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny any wrongdoing.
Memos of three garda interviews with the third man were read to the jury.
This 34-year-old, with an address in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to orally raping the woman in the house and sexually assaulting her in the car.
The court has already seen the video clips, one 30 seconds long and the other lasting six seconds.
Nothing is visible in either clip, but a female voice says "no" several times during the 30-second clip. A garda witness told the court he believed a male voice said, “Stick it up her arse” during this clip.
The third man told the gardaí he recorded one video in the SUV and one in the house as it was his “first time experiencing something like this.” He said he made the recordings for a “laugh.”
He told the gardaí that he later shared the videos in a group chat with the first accused and another male friend. He said he sent them “for a laugh,” describing it as a “locker room chat” between “blokes.”
The man said it was dark when he recorded the clips and suggested gardaí could edit them to improve the lighting.
He said the video taken in the house was made while the first accused was having sex with the woman.
In a third interview, he said this 30-second clip included the first man asking the woman for anal sex, which she refused. “She knew what she did and didn't want”.
When gardaí suggested someone is laughing in the video, he said he did not know.
Gardaí then put it to him that “you were laughing at her being raped”. The man insisted the audio was of the first man asking for anal sex, and while the woman refused, “she continued to have sex, she knew what she wanted to do”.
He said his sexual interactions with the woman were kissing in the SUV and her performing oral sex on him in the house.
The third man told gardaí he did noy have sex with the complainant and “didn't see any rough play whatsoever”.
Gardaí put to the third man that bruising on the woman suggested the use of force. He replied, “I've nothing to do with any force”, adding that he didn't touch her.
Sexual activity
He told the gardaí that he wouldn't let a friend do that. “It's insanity to throw this at us; I would never let that happen.”
When asked if he gave the woman cocaine, he replied, “No, this isn't fair”.
He said the woman was “having fun” and didn't withdraw consent at any point. He said if she'd withdrawn consent, “whoever was having sex with her would stop”.
He insisted the woman consented to sexual activity with him and the other two accused.
When extracts from the woman's statement were read, the third accused replied, “Who in their right mind would bring a woman back after sex with them and two friends to their house?”.
“These things don’t add up. She had sex in the jeep. She didn’t scream or shout in the house when a fellow was a pillow away [in the room next door]”.
He told gardaí, “It doesn't add up; she's lying”.
Later, he said: “It's a no-brainer; she never said no and asked to come to the house.”
In his account of the night, the third man said he went to the nightclub with the two other accused, where they encountered the woman. He said he bumped into the woman when he was leaving, and he asked her about afterparties.
He said he walked towards the second man's SUV. When he looked back, the second accused had “linked arms” with the woman.
When shown CCTV footage of the three accused and the woman outside the nightclub, he told gardai that she appeared to be “walking normal”.
He said she didn't look drunk, saying, “She was straight up... normal-like.”
He said there was chat in the car during the drive to his home. He said they couldn't go inside as his mother was asleep downstairs.
He said when he returned to the SUV, “everything changed”.
He said the woman touched the other two accused's arms, saying, “How nice and sexy they looked.”
He told gardaí that she said she wanted to party with them. He said the first man asked her if she knew what it meant to party with them, and she replied yes.
He said the woman and the first man kissed in the car. He said the first accused started to give the woman oral sex, and she looked at him, and they kissed.
He said the second man got into the back of the car, kissed the woman, and they had sex.
He said he took a video while the woman and the first man kissed. The woman then performed oral sex on the first accused.
He said they then went to the first man's home, but he initially remained in the SUV to find his keys.
When he went inside, he said he saw the woman and the second accused kiss and then have sex.
He said the woman rubbed his leg and then performed oral sex on him briefly. He said she also performed oral sex on the first man. He stated the woman also had sex with the first man.
The third man said the sexual activity ended as everyone was tired. He left the house with the second accused in the early hours.
He said the woman's jeans and underwear were removed during sexual activity in the car and in the house but that her top remained on throughout. He said she helped to remove her clothing.
He said an “ear witness,” a roommate of the first man, heard them in the house.
An investigating garda agreed with Seamus Clarke SC, representing the third man, that his client gave a detailed account in his first interview before he was shown CCTV and other evidence.
It was further accepted that the man maintained his innocence at all times during the three interviews and that his solicitor had also been present.
In other evidence on Thursday, a forensic examiner from a sexual assault treatment unit gave evidence of their examination of the woman on August 31st, 2019.
Bruising was found on the women's arms and legs. The woman said these were new since the alleged incident.
The court heard forensic samples and swabs were taken, and the woman's clothing was seized. No injuries to the genital area were observed, with the court told that this does not preclude the possibility of vaginal penetration.
The examiner confirmed to Padraig Dwyer SC, defending the first man, that no complaint of anal penetration was made and no injury observed.
During cross-examination, the examiner confirmed sections of their note of what the complainant told them about the alleged incident.

The first man, aged 39 with an address in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the woman in his home address and not guilty to one count of oral rape and one count of sexually assaulting her in a car.
The second man, aged 42 with an address in Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the woman in the car and one count of raping her in the house.
The trial will continue on Monday before Mr Justice Paul Burns 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.