Man denies sexual assault at knifepoint

BY DAVID FORSYTHE

A MAN who, it is alleged, seriously sexually assaulted an individual at knifepoint and recorded the assault on his mobile phone, was refused bail in Bandon last week.

The accused, the court heard, had packed his bags and had an air ticket to leave the day after he was alleged to have committed the assault.

Defence solicitor Plunkett Taaffe applied for bail on behalf of his client who cannot be named due to the nature of the alleged offences.

Inspector Emmet Daly acting for the State said that gardaí would be objecting to the granting of bail due to the seriousness of the alleged offences, the view that the accused was a flight risk and for the protection of witnesses in the case.

Giving evidence Detective Garda Aine O’Regan said that on March 29th last at a location in West Cork it was alleged that the accused had seriously sexually assaulted the injured party in a bedroom at knifepoint.

It was also alleged that the accused had recorded the sexual assault on his mobile phone.

The court heard that the alleged injured party told a friend what had happened and presented to a garda station and she attended a sexual assault treatment unit later that same day.

The premises where the alleged assault happened was searched and a knife matching the description given by the injured party was discovered and mobile phone footage of the alleged incident was also retrieved.

On searching the premises, it was found that the accused had packed bags in readiness to leave and was in possession of an air ticket to fly from Dublin Airport the next day.

Det Gda O’Regan said that there was also a fear that the accused would interfere with witnesses and told the court that it was alleged that the accused had threatened to kill the injured party and both of her parents.

Mr Taaffe said that his client disputes the version of events as described by the injured party and claimed that what had occurred was consensual.

Mr Taaffe also stated that the airline ticket in his client’s possession was a return ticket booked before the alleged incident.

Judge James McNulty said that the State had not clearly established whether the air ticket was booked before or after the alleged incident.

He said: ‘These are very material facts and you should know if it was or was not booked. [Saying] “as far as I am aware” is not sufficient in the circumstances,’ he said.

Despite the confusion over when the air ticket was booked, the judge said that he believed the gardaí were correct in opposing bail and if the accused was not happy, he could appeal the decision to the High Court.

The judge added: ‘He was on the threshold of leaving this country on the day the alleged offence occurred and given all the circumstances the bail application is refused.’

The man was remanded in custody to appear again on April 19th.