A man has gone on trial at the Central Criminal Court accused of the rape of his wife's friend in a Dublin park almost five years ago.
The 55-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to rape in September 2019.
The now 51-year-old woman told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, on Wednesday that she had known the accused's wife for around 17 years.
She said her friend wanted to have a party to celebrate her son's Debs and another son's birthday on September 2019 and asked her to make sandwiches.
The woman agreed and helped her friend prepare for the party on the Friday morning before returning home. She then went to the accused's house with her teenage daughter and another friend to attend the party.
She initially drove there, before going to another house. She then dropped her car at home and walked back to her friend's house, arriving around 6.30pm.
The complainant said she spent the evening in the back garden with her friend and her sisters. She said they had a glass of champagne, then had some white wine with a splash of 7up.
She said the accused was in the kitchen with neighbours and members of his family.
Bathroom incident
The woman said she went upstairs to use the bathroom and left the door unlocked at one stage, and someone then knocked on the door.
She said: “Someone in here”. There was another knock and she said more loudly: “Just one minute, be out in one second”.
The accused entered the bathroom and stood facing her. She asked him what he was doing as she was using the toilet. She said he replied: “I’m not going anywhere, off you go.”
She repeated she was using the toilet. He then said to her: “I could have you now.”
The woman said she did not feel intimidated, but said the accused was being “ballsy”. She said they had not spoken in five years.
The man eventually left the bathroom after one of his sons told him he was wanted downstairs. The complainant said she “thought it was a bit strange”, but “brushed it off” before returning to the party.
She said her daughter called her around midnight offering to walk home with her, but she said no as she wanted to help her friend to tidy up after the party. She also refused an offer from another friend to walk home with her.
When she was preparing to leave, she said her friend insisted the accused walk her home. The complainant said she initially refused before she eventually agreed.
She stopped during the walk and told the man she was “grand” and could walk home herself, but he said he did not want to lie to his wife. This was repeated a number of times during the walk.
The woman said she had “had a few drinks, but nothing more than I would have had before”.
She said the “tone changed” when they reached a gate at the park, and the man asked her to speak to his wife on his behalf.
“This was the first time we had spoken in over five years. I was a bit flabbergasted about where this was coming from... I thought it was all a joke.”
She refused his request and told him he needed to sort things out with his wife himself. She then decided to continue home through the park.
I felt I was going to be sick.
She said she started to walk along the path and the next thing she remembered was waking up and feeling “cold, sore and wet”.
She said she felt a weight on her, but couldn't initially move her hands, but managed to get them free. At this point, she recognised the accused was raping her.
“I’d love to be able to say I fought really hard. I felt I was going to be sick. I covered my mouth. I didn’t want to be sick, I felt cold... I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t think.”
She said the man got up and walked away when he was finished. She told the court she could not move initially, but managed to get up and go home.
She said she felt “very weak and unsteady” following the incident.
Her partner opened the door, and she said she had to use the bathroom. She said she washed, then put her clothes into the washing machine.
The woman said she stayed in her room for most of the weekend, but had to put on her “game face” on Monday to “try to keep things normal”.
The accused's wife also visited her that day, the court was told.
She said she went to another friend's house that evening and “got really upset”, and told this friend what had happened on the previous Friday night.
The woman confirmed she subsequently attended a sexual assault treatment unit before making a statement to gardaí, and handed her phone in to officers.
She said she got a Whatsapp message saying “oops” on the Saturday from an unsaved number, which belonged to the accused. She said the man texted her in the months before the alleged incident asking her to take care of his wife.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Gillane told the jury in his opening speech that it is the State's case that the man raped the complainant in a park after a party at his house.
The man denied any wrongdoing when interviewed by gardaí and said any sexual contact was initiated by the complainant.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Tony Hunt 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.
