An English forensic scientist has told a jury at the central Criminal Court in Dublin that DNA tests revealed the semen of a Tallaght man in swabs taken from an alleged victim, his friend's fiancee.
Mr Matthew James Green Halgh agreed with Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, defending, that the amount of semen was so minute that combined tests had to be carried out to provide a result.
The jury viewed a video of a Garda interview with the defendant during which he said he did not go upstairs with the intention of having sex with the woman.
The 28-year-old man denies raping the woman on May 24th, 1997, at an address in Co Dublin. He has also pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault.
The woman earlier told the court the alleged offences happened in her bed following an impromptu party in the house she shared with her fiance. The defendant said in the interview the woman was "kind of awake and semi-conscious".
The hearing continues.