Two men from Eastern Europe have been denied bail after being accused of raping a young man near the GPO in Dublin.
The alleged attack, which took place just twenty five metres from O’Connell street, was supposedly carried out by two unnamed men, aged 23 and 26, against a third man in his 20s who they did not know.
CCTV footage showed the professed victim, who was reportedly intoxicated near the GPO according to a Garda Detective, talking to passersby, including the defendants and a male friend of theirs. After a reported incident of “pushing and pulling,” the alleged victim began to walk away, but was followed by the three men.
After appearing to be chased down, the court heard of how the young man was pushed into the fire exit alcove of a building on Prince’s Street, where the alleged attack lasted four minutes according to Detective Garda James Campbell.
Speaking to the Dublin District Court, the Detective said how after four minutes a passing Garda patrol car saw what was happening and intervened. While one man fled the scene, Gardaí caught him after a foot chase whereupon he said that all alleged activities taking place were completely consensual.
The court heard of how the two alleged attackers often traveled around Europe working, and that one was due to fly back to his home country the next week to visit his family.
While the defence solicitor for the pair asserted that neither of the defendants had any previous convictions, the Judge denied them both the right to bail, and evidence is being prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions before the trial can proceed.