Sex charges against three Dublin men accused of the gang rape of a woman in a Belfast hotel room are to be dropped, a senior barrister said on Tuesday.
Prosecuting KC Philip Mateer told Craigavon Crown Court that as a result of a meeting, “the Directors’ office have instructed me not to proceed with the case” so he was applying to have the charges left on the books “not to be proceeded with without the leave of this court or the Court of Appeal”.
The three defendants, who had signed in to watch proceedings by video-link, are Conor Lawlor (20) from the Bannow Road in Cabra; Jake O’Sullivan (18), from Barnamore Grove in Finglas; and Cameron Kynes (18), from St Jarlath Road in Cabra.
Lawlor and Kynes are charged with vaginal rape, sexual assault and sexual assault by penetration arising from an incident at the Balmoral Hotel on April 2nd last year while O’Sullivan is charged with oral rape and the sexual assault offences.
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Giving evidence during a previous hearing, Det Con McAnulty outlined how the trio were arrested shortly after the night porter at the Balmoral Hotel made a 999 call just after 3am on April 2nd when the complainant alleged she had been raped.
He said that according to the complainant, she had met the defendants in a bar in Belfast and “liked one of them” so went back to his hotel but then she “passed out” and awoke to find them “pulling her dress off”.
According to the police case, all three assaulted her with their fingers and while O’Sullivan is alleged to have forced her to perform a sex act, the other two are alleged to have had full sexual intercourse without her consent.
The court also heard allegations the defendants “had been recording the incident on mobile phones” with police in possession of some of that footage.
“All of the males took their turns,” he told the court adding that the alleged ordeal came to an end when the woman was able to run out of the room and down to reception to alert the night porter.
All three were arrested and interviewed but refused to answer police questions.
In court on Tuesday Mr Mateer confirmed a decision had been made that the evidential test was now not met, hence the decision to discontinue the prosecution.
Defence barristers for the defendants said given that stance, they wished for formal not guilty verdicts to be recorded against their names.
For that to happen, a jury will have to be sworn so Judge Patrick Lynch KC adjourned the case for a week to allow that to be arranged.