Closing stages reached in trial of Galway teen accused of raping girl he was dating
By Fiona Ferguson and Eimear Dodd
Closing stages have been reached in the trial of a Co Galway teenager charged with the rape and sexual assault of a teenage girl he had been dating for a few weeks.
The now 16-year-old accused pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three charges of oral rape and one of rape of the then 13-year-old girl on dates between June and July 2023.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred in a County Galway housing estate where both children were living with their families. The accused was 14 years old at the time.
The jury have heard closing speeches from prosecution and defence counsel and have been charged by Mr Justice Patrick McGrath. They retired to consider their verdict on Friday afternoon and deliberated for approximately 40 minutes before being sent home for the weekend.
During her evidence, the girl said she told several friends before telling her mother what had happened.
Before the evidence in the case concluded, an investigating garda told the jury that investigators contacted the parents of these children and some of them did not agree to facilitate interviews.
The garda also confirmed that the girl's mother gave her a screenshot of a Snapchat message from the girl, but other Snapchat messages could not be retrieved.
During cross-examination, the garda agreed with John Berry SC, defending, that several attempts were made to confirm the dates on which these incidents allegedly occurred. She noted the girl said “I think” and was unsure in relation to exact dates.
A local uniformed garda outlined in evidence how he and a colleague met the girl to take the complaint in the presence of her mother. He said this was a preliminary meeting, and not the formal process of taking the girl's complaint.
Under cross-examination, this garda agreed with John Berry SC, defending, that the official garda report of this meeting contains a range of dates between early and late June 2023, when the offences allegedly occurred. He confirmed that this was information given by the girl, and that any other information would have been in the report.
Mr Berry noted that the specialist forensic examiner outlined in her evidence a different and shorter range of dates in late June. The witness said he didn't know where these dates came from.
Earlier in the trial, the forensic examiner told the jury that it had taken some time to confirm dates with the girl, who was “tearful” and finding it difficult to talk about the alleged incidents.
The trial continues on Monday before Mr Justice McGrath and a jury.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
