The jury in the trial of a man accused of raping a mentally impaired Cork woman has been discharged by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
The trial ended suddenly in the concluding stages on the third day of the hearing. Mr Justice Carney's decision came following a dispute between counsel for both sides over an alleged comment by the prosecution in a final submission to the jury.
The 57-year-old accused man had pleaded not guilty to having sexual intercourse with the woman and to raping her on a date unknown between August 1st, 1996, and January 31st, 1997. He also denied sexually assaulting the same woman on July 5th, 1997.