A Limerick man has denied he raped a woman after he offered her a lift when he found her crying following a row with her boyfriend. He told Mr Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, on the third day of the trial: "It wasn't a one-sided decision."
The 37-year-old man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three charges of rape, oral rape and aggravated sexual assault on November 16th, 1996.
Earlier, in direct evidence, he told Mr Patrick Gageby SC (with Michael Maloney), defending, that they stopped on the way to the woman's house because they both needed to go to the toilet. He said when they returned to the car everything was fine. They lit a cigarette and talked about her boyfriend. He kissed her. He said they had sexual intercourse and he denied that this was against her will. He described further sexual acts and said that as they drove away from where the alleged rape took place he had a puncture. He offered to walk her home or get a taxi but she said it was fine and they kissed goodbye.
He told Mr Gageby she said she had problems, that she was pregnant by her boyfriend and that was why they had had a row. The accused told Mr O'Higgins (with Mr Brendan Nix), prosecuting, he was prepared to drive her anywhere, he said. Mr O'Higgins suggested that he claimed he was an angel of mercy but ended up having intercourse and having oral sex with her. The accused replied: "We started kissing and then had sex."
He agreed with counsel he had sex with a number of women on the first date but denied that he ever saw her as "sick and vulnerable and an easy ticket to a night's sex" which it was suggested earlier he had told gardai.
The trial continues before Ms Justice McGuinness and a jury.