Court hears rape accused pointed to Cork laneway where alleged offence took place
The man who was arrested almost three weeks into a rape investigation for questioning made a reference to the laneway at the centre of the case as he was being driven past it in a patrol car, the arresting officer said.
The alleged rape occurred on February 17, 2017 and after 5pm on March 6 the accused was arrested in the city.
“I arrested him for sexual assault. He had limited English. I cautioned him. I tried to explain it in simple English. I felt he understood I was a police officer and he knew he was arrested for some sort of sexual offence.
“I explained he was going to be brought to the Bridewell garda station. I believe he understood that. I explained an interpreter would be available.
“As we passed (the lane where the alleged incident occurred) he pointed and said, ‘Here?’,” Sergeant John O’Connell testified at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.
For the avoidance of doubt, prosecution senior counsel Tim O’Leary, asked the sergeant if he believed that the defendant was saying that word as a declaration or a question.
Sgt. O’Connell understood it as a question.
As a matter of routine, the defendant was searched in the garda station and placed in a cell. He was wearing a red coat with a white stripe and this was seized as part of the investigation.
Most of Day 4 of the trial consisted of legal discussions in the absence of the jury.
On the return of the four women and eight men of the jury Mr O’Leary SC said that if video recordings of the garda interviews of the defendant were to be played it would take several hours as the garda questions had to be translated for the defendant and his answers had to be translated for the gardaí so it was rather laborious.
However, Mr O’Leary said that by agreement with the defence the written memo of the interviews could be read to them which would only take one hour. Mr O’Leary indicated that the prosecution evidence would close today, following the reading of that memo.
The defendant, who is in his 20s, denies two counts of raping the young woman on February 17, 2017 in a laneway in Cork city, once by having sexual intercourse with her and once by oral rape.
