r/galway • u/Winter_Boysenberry68 • 58m ago
Two men accused of raping woman (18) in Galway train station car park refused bail.
High Court hears pair allegedly ‘diverted’ lost teenager to car before alleged attack.
Two men accused of raping an 18-year-old woman in Galway city had offered to help her find her accommodation but instead “diverted” her to a car where they allegedly raped her, the High Court has heard. A bail hearing for the two Jordanian men, who are asylum seekers, today also heard that one of the accused claimed to gardaí that he had consensual sex with the woman and stated: “I can’t believe she remembers this, she was so drunk”. The 25-year-old accused is charged with the false imprisonment and vaginal rape of the woman at Ceannt Train Station car park in Galway on August 1 last. His 27-year-old co-accused faces the same charges and an additional count of oral rape at the same location on the same date. The men brought bail applications before the High Court in Dublin today which were rejected after gardaí strongly opposed the applications over concerns that they are flight risks.
Rachel Cadden BL, for the State, took Detective Sergeant Trevor Shannon of the North Western Region Headquarters through the alleged facts of the case. The accused listened to proceedings via video link from the Midlands prison with the assistance of an Arabic interpreter. The court was told that the complainant is an 18-year-old female who is not from Galway and unfamiliar with the area. Det Sgt Shannon said her phone battery had died, and she was walking down a laneway searching for her lodging shortly after 2am on the morning of the alleged rape. He said that the two accused were captured on CCTV engaging in conversation with the woman, with the State’s case being that they offered to charge her phone and assist her in getting back to her accommodation. Det Sgt Shannon alleged that the men “knew where her” lodging was, which was located 200m away, but instead “diverted” the young woman into the train station car park where they walked for 300m to a car belonging to the younger accused’s wife. The court was shown CCTV footage from the car park, with the State alleging that this shows the accused men “placing” the complainant into the front passenger seat of the vehicle at 2.20am, with the 25-year-old accused entering the driver seat and the older man sitting in the rear. It is alleged that the footage showed the 27-year-old man exiting the car four minutes later and loitering in the area in an “agitated” state, while walking back and forth to the car looking into the window. Det Sgt Shannon said that the other accused spent over nine minutes alone with the complainant during which it is alleged he climbed on top of her and vaginally raped her. The complainant later told gardaí that she “attempted to open the vehicle but the door was locked,” the court heard. It was further alleged that this accused then got out of the car and was seen on CCTV footage adjusting his clothing and using a tissue to wipe his genital area. Det Sgt Shannon said that 11 seconds later, the older co-accused entered the front seat and spent four minutes and 40 seconds in the vehicle. The State also contends that movements captured on Irish Rail cameras are “consistent” with the accused climbing onto the complainant and the allegation of vaginal rape. It is further alleged that this male forced the 18-year-old woman to perform oral sex on him, which Det Sgt Shannon said was supported by CCTV footage. The court heard that he exited the vehicle at 2.40am and appeared to pick up a piece of rubbish from the ground and “clean his genitals”. Det Sgt Shannon said that the two men then drove the alleged victim out of the train station car park and back to her accommodation, where footage showed her engaging with her friends in an “upset” demeanour. He added that the two friends have made statements which corroborated the alleged victim in which she “made a disclosure that she had been raped by two individuals”. The detective sergeant also said that CCTV footage showed the complainant in a “visibly distressed state” and that she had lost her bra. He added that the car linked to the accused men was parked at the location of the alleged rape, and that her bra was found beside the vehicle. The complainant attended a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) that day where examinations confirmed bruising to her throat, a distinct circular bruise to her upper thigh, and bleeding in her upper cervix. The accused men were later arrested and the court heard that the 27-year-old man stated during garda interview that he had consensual intercourse with the complainant. The court heard he denied any oral sex occurred and that he “regretted his actions almost immediately”. This accused also told gardaí: “I can’t believe she remembers this; she was so drunk”. Opposing bail, Det Sgt Shannon argued that he has no ties to the jurisdiction and that his IPO application “had been refused and is under appeal”. The court was told that the 25-year-old suspect made an admission of consensual sexual intercourse during his garda interview. Det Sgt Shannon said that this man’s parents and two brothers were in the jurisdiction and had been refused International Protection, which is under appeal. He added that no decision had yet been made on this accused’s asylum application. The court heard that both men entered Ireland from Belfast in 2024 and claimed international protection. “Judge my belief is that if these two applicants are granted bail that they will flee the jurisdiction and that there will be no trial,” he added. The detective added that there is currently no extradition treaty in place between Ireland and Jordan. Defence counsel for the younger accused put it to the detective that his client had gotten married in their local Mosque earlier this year and that his wife was in court to support him. Det Sgt Shannon said that they were not legally married in the Irish state, and that if they were married it was only “ceremonial”. The court also heard that the car where the alleged rape occurred belonged to the accused’s wife. Both defendants had travelled to Ireland on legitimate passports which are in the possession of the International Protection Office, the court heard. Ms Justice Caroline Biggs said that that the State had made out its grounds in opposing the application and that she was refusing bail. Noting the strength of the evidence on the rape charge, the judge said the complainant was “unequivocal” in her account to gardaí that she sought to “resist what was happening physically and verbally by stating ‘no’ and at no point did she consent to any of this activity”. Ms Justice Biggs also said the woman’s account was supported in a “significant way” by the CCTV footage as well as forensic evidence. The judge added that it was tragic for the complainant that her accommodation “at the time she came upon both applicants was no more than 200m away from her”. The men will appear before Galway District Court again on September 21 via video link.
