An American brothel-keeper who alleges that the boyfriend of one of her employees kicked her head on a concrete floor during an altercation has told a jury that her escort service was not like the Rose of Tralee but "the real deal".
A Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury of two women and 10 men heard that David Hanney went to the home of Tanya Marshall with his girlfriend, Tina, and a fight ensued.
Hanney (30), of Lower Oriel Street, Dublin, pleaded not guilty to assaulting Tanya Marshall causing her harm at her home, Cow's Lane, Dublin, on March 5th, 2003.
Ms Marshall said she ran a brothel, and Tina would sometimes work for her but had a "poor work ethic", was unemployable and was "fit for the dole".
The jury heard that the two women traded insults via mobile phone. It heard that Tina arrived at Ms Marshall's apartment with her boyfriend, David Hanney, who waited in a stairwell. Ms Marshall told Dominic McGinn, prosecuting, that she lunged for Tina, grabbing her hair as soon as she saw her at her front door. "I intended to have a fight to get it over with," she said.
Under cross-examination Ms Marshall told Caroline Biggs, defending, that she worked as a prostitute. "It's not the Rose of Tralee, it's the real deal," she said. Ms Marshall agreed she had a previous conviction for running a brothel. She told Ms Biggs that Tina was a "thief, liar and a sociopath". Closing speeches will be heard this morning.