A 29-year-old man has been remanded in custody charged with a number of offences against a woman who was allegedly falsely imprisoned and tied up with duct tape in a Dublin city centre laneway.
Dublin District Court heard on Monday evening that Maurice Fitzgerald from Abbeyview, Buttevant, Co Cork was apprehended by gardaí who witnessed part of the alleged incident on Saturday night.
He is charged with false imprisonment, assault causing harm and possession of a claw hammer and duct tape.
Gardaí told Judge John O’Leary that a very vulnerable woman had been targeted in an isolated laneway near Meeting House Square in Dublin. The court heard a witness observed the woman allegedly being “dragged up a laneway” while another heard the woman shout.
An unmarked garda patrol car arrived at the scene and the car’s headlights illuminated the laneway where gardaí said they observed the man attempting to drag the woman under a parked car.
The court was told the alleged incident was captured on CCTV and the woman could be seen being repeatedly struck before being bound with the tape.
The court heard the defendant was arrested and charged at the Bridewell Garda Station on Monday afternoon and made no reply to the charges.
Judge O’Leary remanded the accused in custody to appear before the court again by video link from Cloverhill Prison on Friday next September 2nd.