Alleged attempted rape victim denies sex discussion
The alleged victim of a Kerry man charged with attempting to rape a then-17-year old girl denied that she had discussed having sex with him and asking him if he had a condom earlier in the night.
The 23-year-old man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three alternative counts of attempted rape, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault of the girl in a Kerry town in the early hours of Christmas Eve two years ago.
He has also pleaded not guilty to a count of threatening to kill the girl and a count of assault with intent to commit rape, also on December 24, 2004.
The victim denied under cross-examination by Mr Tom Creed SC (with Mr Michael Bowman BL), defending, that she had discussed having sex with the accused as they walked through the town after leaving a nightclub together.
She also denied that she had asked him whether he had a condom after they had spent some time kissing in a cul de sac.
The alleged victim told Mr Creed that she had met the accused for the first time in a nightclub with her friends early on the morning of December 24. She agreed that they began dancing together and after a period they began "passionate kissing".
She claimed she had a clear recollection of events and denied being drunk. She agreed that what she had told the court she had to drink was less then what she had told a garda she had to drink on the night when she was making her complaint.
She agreed they left the nightclub together and were "passionately amorous" towards each other.
When asked why she did not go straight home she replied the accused "seemed like a nice fella and we were getting on".
She denied that she discussed having sex with him as they walked through the town holding hands, saying they talked only about work.
The alleged victim agreed she knew that the lane where the alleged incident occurred was a cul de sac before she went in but denied having "further pursuits in mind" on entering it with the accused.
She agreed they were in the lane together for 15 minutes before she started shouting but said they were just kissing during this time. She denied that she asked him if he had condom and that she changed her mind when he took down his trousers.
She said: "Why did he threaten to kill me so?" when Mr Creed put it to her that the accused had got a fright when she started to scream and put his hand over her mouth to quieten her.
She also denied that they had "fallen over" with him on top of her and that was how a man who arrived on the scene had found them.
She agreed that she may have told the first person she met after running away from the lane that she had been raped "as an expression" but said she didn't mean it literally. She said she "didn't know what was after happening to me, I was shocked and scared".
When asked if she knew what rape was she replied "when a guy tries to have sex with you and you don't want to" and said she wasn't sure at the time of the incident what the "extent" of rape was.
She agreed that her clothes were not damaged even though she had said her trousers and pants had been forced down and that she had told a doctor who examined her that her top had been ripped open.
The trial continues before Mr Justice O'Higgins and a jury of three women and nine men.
