Midlands gang rape trial hears from forensic scientist and further garda interviews

The trial of four men for the alleged rape of a teenage girl in a car in December 2016 has heard evidence of semen found on some of the men's clothing.

The four men have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the then 17-year-old girl on the night of December 27, 2016. A fifth man is not before the court.

The girl got into a car with the men in the early hours of the morning in a midlands town and it is the prosecution case that the four defendants each sexually assaulted her as the car was driven out of the town.

The car was driven to a remote location nearby and it is alleged that all five men raped her in turn at this location. The car was driven to another location and it is alleged that three of the men falsely imprisoned the girl at this point in the car while one man sexually assaulted her and another raped her.

The four defendants deny all the charges. They were aged between 17 and 19 at the time and cannot be identified under the 1981 Rape Act.

On day 14 of the trial Dr Laura Flanagan, a forensic scientist, told Gareth Baker BL, prosecuting, that she examined the underwear belonging to the driver of the car and seized by gardai during their investigation.

It is alleged that this man, who was 17 at the time, was the second man to rape the girl at the remote location.

Dr Flanagan said that samples found on inside of the underwear of this defendant showed the presence of semen from two persons. She said that the major profile matched the defendant's DNA while a minor profile matched the DNA for the third defendant, a passenger in the car.

During garda interviews of the suspects in March 2017 the passenger told gardai that he was the first person to have sex with the girl at the remote location and that the driver then had sex with her after him. The driver told gardai that he did not have penetrative sex with the girl in the car.

A garda witness told the court that in August 2017 he re-arrested the driver in order to question him on the results of the DNA analysis. The defendant said that when first spoke to gardai about these allegations he “lied about everything” but that he told the truth when interviewed in March 2017.

He again claimed he did not have penetrative sex with the complainant and said he did not ejaculate at any point in the car.

When garda interviewers put it to him that both his semen and semen from the front seat passenger was found inside his underwear he said “I don't remember if I left the driver seat and someone else sat there”.

He said the other man's semen could have ended up on his underwear when he was lying on the girl, saying: “I probably touched my hand somewhere”.

Asked to account for the presence of his semen inside his underwear he said “I don't know” and added “I don't know if I put my hands inside my pants”. He said he didn't know how the other man's semen got to be on his underwear.

He said that when they were at the remote location he got on top of the woman, but didn't take his trousers down and they were not open. He told gardai: “I want her to prove I was inside her”.

Asked: “Was it your intention to have sex with her when you got on top of her” he said yes, but said he couldn't get his trousers off.

Asked if the complainant wanted to “have sex with you” he replied “I don't know, I didn't ask her, she didn't say yes to sex”.

The garda witness agreed with Brendan Grehan SC, defending the driver, that his client was charged in April 2018 and remanded on bail. He was permitted to travel out of the country for medical purposes and abided by his bail conditions.

He agreed that apart from some road traffic offences the defendant had not come to adverse garda attention.

The court heard that in August 2017 another defendant was questioned about the presence of his semen found on his underpants and on the complainant's top. He told gardaí that he did not ejaculate in the car and did not have his penis out at any stage.

Asked to account for the presence of his semen he said that at some point in the evening he walked away from the car and masturbated by himself. He said that nobody saw him and that he was previously too embarrassed to tell gardai about this.

He said he didn't think it was relevant to the allegations.

He said he didn't ejaculate in the back of the car, didn't get the complainant to perform oral sex on him, and didn't get her to masturbate him.

He said when he ejaculates: “it does not go everywhere, it stays on top of my penis” and “that is why I was embarrassed”.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Tara Burns and a jury.