Midlands rape trial continues with jury hearing evidence of garda interviews

One of the four men accused of raping a teenage girl in a car told gardaí that “what happened in his car he did not want to happen to anyone else” and that he wanted the girl to forgive him.

The four men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have all pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the then 17-year-old girl at a location in the midlands on December 27, 2016.

The first accused (22) has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment. The second accused (24) has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault, one count of oral rape and one count of false imprisonment.

The third accused (24) has also pleaded not guilty to an additional count of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment. The fourth accused (23) has also pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault.

All of the offending is alleged to have been committed at various locations in the midlands on the same date against the same woman when the accused were aged between 17 and 19.

It is the prosecution case that the complainant got into a car with the men in the early hours of the morning and was driven to a location where the four accused and a fifth man not before the courts raped her “one after another”.

Before the jury on Wednesday, Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, read out memos of interviews of the first accused by gardaí regarding the alleged events.

The jury has previously heard that during an interview, gardaí asked the first accused if he deleted anything. He answered that he deleted messages about the complainant's passport being left behind which she did not respond to. He said he deleted them and blocked her on Facebook.

The first accused said he deleted this stuff because he was scared. He said he was scared because maybe she thought he stole her passport and the gardaí might come after him, and also because of what happened on the night in the car.

The jury heard on Wednesday that the remainder of this interview of the first accused by gardaí.

Gardaí asked the first accused what about what happened in the car that night was he scared about. He answered because of having sex in car with various persons.

When asked if he thought it was wrong, he answered yes. When asked why, the first accused said “because five guys and one girl”.

When asked what was wrong with that, the first accused replied that she did not say yes, she did not say no. He said that every time one finished, another would go in to the car and have sex, saying “every time one came out another went in”.

Gardaí asked the first accused why he did not have sex with her. He answered that he “didn't have the guts”. When asked what he meant, he said he “didn't dare”, that all he did was touch her side from breast to belly to legs, but he did not dare have sex with her.

Gardaí asked the first accused who took videos and where the videos have gone. He answered that he did not know anything about videos.

Later in the interview he said he “did a video”. He said the video showed the fourth accused with the complainant and that this accused later came to his house and told him to delete it. He said this video was on Snapchat rather than his phone's camera.

Gardaí asked the first accused if he wanted to say anything to the complainant. He said wanted to ask her to forgive him and that what happened in his car he did not want to happen to anyone else.

The trial continues before Justice Tara Burns and a jury.

Mr Staines also read out memos of interviews of the second accused by gardaí.

Gardaí asked the second accused was anything going on in the car after the complainant got in, but before she moved from the back into the front. The second accused answered that she kissed him, that he touched her, that she was touching his legs and she kissed the fourth accused and fifth man.

The second accused said he kissed her back and he thinks his hands were around her face when he kissed her. When asked did he touch her anywhere else, he said he touched her left breast.

When asked who his closest friends in the car that night were, he said the third accused and the fourth accused. He said he trusted them and would say that they trusted him.

Gardaí asked the second accused if he thought the third and fourth accused would make up lies about him. He answered that he knew the third accused had said that the five of them had sex with the complainant.

The second accused said he did not have sex with the complainant. He agreed that if that was what the third accused had said, then the third accused was lying.

Gardaí asked what happened between him and the complainant. He said that he asked her if he could give her oral sex, she said yes, he went between her legs and moved her underwear, but he did not do it as he thought it was “nasty” because she had had sex with the third accused.

When asked if at any time in the night she heard her say stop or don't do that or no, he replied no not while he was there.

In a subsequent interview, gardaí asked the second accused what reason the complainant would have to tell them lies. He answered that she probably regretted what she had done.

When asked to tell gardaí what parts he said she had consented to, the second accused said for the guys to kiss her, for the third accused to have sex with her and for him to give her oral sex, but he did not do it.

Gardaí asked how he knew she had given the third accused consent. He answered because she was kissing him back and if he was being raped he would be screaming and trying to get out.

When it was put to him that the complainant was only 17 and he was asked if he thought she knew what she was doing, the second accused answered that “yeah” he was “pretty sure”.

The second accused said the complainant was not raped, was not sexually assaulted and that nothing was recorded on his phone.

At the end of the final interview, gardaí asked the second accused if there was anything he wanted to add. He said that letting that girl get into the car was “the biggest regret” of his life and that she had “ruined” the last few days.

When asked if he cared how she was, the second accused said she did not care when she said she did not consent.