A Bosnian accused of raping a Dublin prostitute in 1995 told a jury yesterday that a taxi driver conducted most of the negotiations with the alleged victim and another prostitute.
He said he had seen condoms being sold in small shops in Sarajevo but was not sure what they were for. A relative had told him the Serbo-Croat name for the devices. He knew a condom was to be put on a man's penis, he said.
The 44-year-old man was giving evidence on the second day of the trial at the Central Criminal Court. He denies three charges of raping the alleged victim in his Dublin home early on July 1st, 1995. Earlier, the 49-year-old former prostitute claimed they had agreed a £60 fee for sex with a condom. She alleged the defendant refused to wear a condom when they were in his bedroom and forced himself on her twice against her will. She further claimed he forced her to perform oral sex.
The man told Mr Peter Charleton SC (with Mr Paul McDermott), defending, that on June 30th he took a taxi to Fitzwilliam Square. He said the taxi driver conducted most of the negotiations with the alleged victim and another prostitute. When they were in his bedroom she put a condom on him but he told her he would not use it. She agreed to have sex without one. The taxi driver gave evidence yesterday and said he did not hear the victim mention condoms on Fitzwilliam Square. He said the defendant negotiated with her.
The trial before Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan continues.