A teenage girl who was allegedly raped by two boys, aged 13 and 15, in a car at a Christmas race meeting has said one of the boys had sex with her without her consent and then his friend jumped into the back of a car and “did the same thing”.
A trial at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork has heard the young woman is 18 but was 16 at the time of the alleged offence at Limerick racecourse in Patrickswell, Co Limerick, on December 26th, 2022.
A third teenager, who is now 17 but was 15 at the time of the alleged offence, is charged with aiding and abetting the two youths to commit sexual assault and rape. He also faces a charge of falsely imprisoning the girl.
The three young men have entered not guilty pleas.
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The girl gave her cross-examination evidence by videolink today.
She had previously said in evidence that she met the boys for the first time on the date of the alleged offence when she went to the racecourse with her friends.
The young girl also previously said in evidence that she had agreed to get into a car in the car park.
On Thursday, the woman said that the then 13-year-old accused took his pants down in the car and had sex with her without her consent.
She said she told the teenager that she didn’t want to have sex with him but he raped her despite her saying “no”. She also said that she told him she was having her period at the time and suggested going back to her friends instead.
She said his friend then got into the back seat of the car and “did the same thing”.
Tom Creed, SC, for the 13-year-old (now 15) said his client was of the belief that the sex he had with the girl was consensual. The young woman disagreed.
Mr Creed asked her if she wanted to “get with” one of the boys and if she had agreed to go somewhere private to kiss him. She confirmed this was the case.
The girl said she had consumed a couple of alcoholic drinks and “wasn’t exactly thinking properly” or as she “usually would”.
Defence barrister Vincent Heneghan, SC, representing the then 15-year-old accused of rape (who is now 17) said his client admitted having sexual intercourse with the girl but claims “it was consensual”.
Mr Heneghan said his client maintained the complainant had initiated the sexual contact and had taken off her own underwear while helping him take off his clothes. The young woman said she disagreed with “the whole story” as laid out.
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When asked by Mr Heneghan how many drinks she had had over the course of the day, she said she had more than three but she could not be certain of an actual number.
Mr Heneghan said the young woman “didn’t appear to be drunk”, according to his client’s recollection. The complainant said she did not discuss drinking with the 15-year-old who allegedly raped her.
“I didn’t state it. But you could see it in me,” she said.
Dean Kelly, SC, for the prosecution asked the complainant if she had consented to anyone taking off her clothes. She said she had not.
The jury heard a Garda recording of a specialist interview with the girl that took place shortly after the alleged incident.
In the interview she said she was “freaked” by what had happened to her in the car at the racecourse.
She said that when she got out of the car she told her friends what happened. They contacted a friend’s mother, who brought her back to their house.
She said her own mother was then contacted and she later went to a sexual assault treatment unit with her parents.
The trial continues on Friday in front of a jury of nine women and three men and Mr Justice Paul McDermott. It is expected to last for three weeks.
