A BOY aged 14 has been questioned by detectives and detained at a south Dublin Garda station overnight after a 15-year-old girl alleged she had been raped in a toilet cubicle at a Junior Cert disco.
The alleged rape occurred at an alcohol-free disco in the Tramco nightclub in Rathmines on Thursday night. The girl is from Tallaght and the boy is understood to be from Templeogue.
Staff and other revellers heard screaming coming from a cubicle in the male toilets at Tramco at about 11pm.
When security staff working at the nightclub rushed in to investigate, they found the boy and girl had been in a cubicle. The girl was in a distressed state.
Security staff held the boy while the girl was taken by other staff to a quiet room away from the nightclub atmosphere and music.
The girl alleged she had been raped while in the cubicle. Gardaí were alerted.
There was a high-visibility uniformed Garda operation for several hours beforehand outside the premises to deter underage drinking before some 300 teenagers went into the venue to celebrate the end of their exams.
A number of these gardaí on duty nearby went into the venue to interview the suspect and the alleged victim.
A DJ playing music announced to the students just after 11pm that the night was ending early.
At that stage the majority of the revellers did not know what was alleged to have taken place in the toilets. However, when the teenagers were prevented by gardaí from leaving the venue for about 30 minutes it became clear that a criminal investigation was under way.
Gardaí took the alleged victim to nearby Rathmines Garda station while her parents were also contacted.
The girl was then taken for a medical examination to the sexual assault unit at the Rotunda Hospital.
The boy was arrested and taken to Terenure Garda station. He was questioned under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for 24-hour detention without charge.
That period of detention can be suspended overnight to allow the suspect to sleep. The detention period formally recommences the following morning. The boy was still being held at the station last night where he was being questioned in the presence of his parents.
