Teenager convicted for sexual assault and rape of girl (13) in Co Galway

By Sonya McLean and Eimear Dodd

A teenager has been convicted of the sexual assault and rape of a 13-year-old girl he had been dating for a number of weeks.

The now 16-year-old accused pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three charges of oral rape and one of rape of the then 13-year-old girl on dates between June and July 2023.

The incidents occurred in a Co. Galway housing estate where both children were living with their families. The accused was 14 years old at the time.

A jury returned the verdicts on day six of the trial, following three and a half hours of deliberation.

Mr Justice Patrick McGrath thanked the jurors for their attention during the trial.

He remanded the teenager on continuing bail and adjourned the case for sentence to November 3rd next. A probation report was ordered for the next date.

The incidents

Earlier in the trial, the jury was shown a video of an interview the girl had with specialist gardaí in July 2023. She told gardaí that she had been “dating” the accused since June that year – about three weeks before she said he raped her.

In that interview, the girl told gardaí that the accused kept asking her for sex and she kept saying “tomorrow, tomorrow”.

She said then one day, when they were both in his house, he got on top of her, pushed her shorts aside and shoved his penis into her vagina.

She told gardaí that it happened on Tuesday, and she told her mother via a Snapchat message on Friday.

She said that after it happened, she had been asking her friends what she should do, and they told her what had happened was rape because she didn’t want to do it.

The complainant described incidents of the accused grabbing her head and shoving it down to his penis for her to perform oral sex on him.

She described two other similar incidents, which she said were oral rape. She said one of them occurred on the same day as the rape.

The girl told gardaí that after the rape, she was very upset. She told the gardaí about bruises she had from the accused and said there was a “massive bruise” on her chest.

Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, told the jury in her opening address that the complainant’s mother got a Snapchat from her child on July 7th, 2023, telling her that the accused had raped her.

The message said that the complainant didn’t want to go to the gardaí and said she just wanted her mother to know – she said it had been going on “a while”.

A screenshot of that Snapchat message was later read out to the jury while the complainant was present via videolink.

The girl accepted that she had told her mother in the message that she did not realise the accused had raped her until her friends helped her realise that.

A forensic examiner from a specialist child and adolescent sexual assault treatment unit gave evidence about an examination of the girl conducted in early July 2023.

She said she was informed by gardaí that the alleged incidents took place in mid-June, outside the seven-day timeframe for an urgent appointment.

During cross-examination from John Berry SC, defending, she said the girl advised her that the alleged incidents happened in late June. The forensic examiner added that it had taken some time to confirm dates with the girl, who was “tearful” and found it difficult to talk about the alleged incidents.

Mr Berry asked the forensic examiner what she would have done if she'd been advised the alleged incidents could have happened within the seven-day window. The witness said an urgent appointment would have been arranged for the girl.

Bruising

Outlining her findings, the forensic examiner said tests showed the girl is more susceptible to bruising. “More than 20 bruises” were noted on the girl's body, some of which were accidental.

Bruises were noted on the girl's breasts, inner thighs and genital area. The forensic examiner said in her professional opinion, a localised bruise to the girl's genital area was “consistent” with the report of “painful digital and vaginal penetration”.

She said in her professional opinion, a bruise on the girl's breast was “consistent” with the complainant's report that the boy had bitten her through her clothing.

The witness said the inner thighs aren't a “typical” site for accidental bruising and that small circular bruises to the girl's inner thighs were “highly suspicious” in the context of an alleged sexual assault.

During cross-examination, the witness said she had “not anticipated” seeing injuries during the examination, describing it as “unusual”, as this examination took place outside the seven-day window for an urgent appointment.

She told Ms Rowland during re-examination that bruising in the genital area of a young person generally doesn't persist for longer than three to seven days.

She noted that it is “very unusual to have persistent bruising” in the genital area, as this area tends to heal quickly. She added that intimate bruising can take up to 34 days to heal.

The witness told Mr Berry in cross-examination that it is not possible to age a bruise.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.