AN IRISH nurse has been convicted of raping another woman in Brisbane, Australia.
Anne-Marie O’Loughlin (25) was yesterday found guilty on two counts of digital rape and one of deprivation of liberty at the Caxton Hotel, in Brisbane’s city centre, in the early hours of November 29th last year.
Following a five-day trial, the district court jury took 13 hours to convict O’Loughlin, who had been working in Australia as a registered nurse. She was found not guilty of a fourth charge of sexual assault. O’Loughlin had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The trial heard O’Loughlin attacked a 34-year-old local woman, who cannot be named, in the female toilets of the hotel.
O’Loughlin first kissed the victim, who kissed her back in a bid to escape, the court heard.
When the victim tried to leave, O’Loughlin grabbed her hair, slammed her head into a wall and pulled her into a toilet cubicle.
In a police interview played to the jury, O’Loughlin said she did not recall kissing the woman, but admitted it was possible. She said it was not in her nature to force someone to have sex.
In his summing up to the jury, Judge David Reid instructed them to “put the issue of gender out of your minds” and work to determine the facts of the case.
The judge said while the victim conceded under cross-examination she had not screamed “no” or “don’t do that”, she said she had demonstrated she had not consented by pushing O’Loughlin’s hands away, pulling up her jeans while O’Loughlin tried to pull them down and, at the end of the incident, yelling out for security.
O’Loughlin’s lawyers argued the victim’s evidence cast doubt over whether the incident happened in the way she described, or whether it was consensual.
During the trial the court heard evidence from the victim’s husband, who said he was very upset after his wife left the toilets and told him what happened. He called the police and tried to detain O’Loughlin outside the hotel.
Judge Reid told the jury the prosecution had argued O’Loughlin had lied to police, and that DNA evidence found under three of her fingernails linked her to the woman. O’Loughlin forgot her purse after the incident, and the victim picked it up. It contained identification.
Prosecutors said the woman had given frank evidence, and other witnesses had testified she was upset immediately upon emerging from the toilets.
After being convicted yesterday, O’Loughlin was remanded in custody to await sentencing.
Her barrister, Damian Walsh, asked for an adjournment so he could get a psychological report to put before the court.
Judge Reid said this would be helpful, and adjourned the case until next Friday when a sentencing date is likely to be set for mid-February.
