Two males have been found guilty of the rape and sexual assault of a young woman in Kerry in 2020.
The young men, who are both teenagers but cannot be named, were found guilty of six counts of rape and sexual assault, relating to an incident in the summer of 2020 in a rural area of the county.
The court heard that the victim, who was 16 years old at the time of the attack, was raped and sexually assaulted by the two men in an area near her home, after drunkenly sneaking out of her house with a female friend.
One of the accused, who the court heard was in an on-off relationship with the complainant at the time, faced five charges including rape and sexual assault relating to the one night that summer.
The court was told that the co-accused was not known to the complainant at the time, and he faced three charges of sexual assault from the night in question, including oral rape.
After nine hours and 14 minutes of deliberating on the eight counts with which the two accused were charged, the jury in this trial was thanked for its service and sent home.
Yesterday afternoon, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath informed the jury they could reach a verdict on a majority basis of at least ten to two, rather than unanimous, at which point the jury told the court they had actually reached a unanimous verdict on six of the counts.
At that stage, the jury had found the first accused guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, including oral rape.
The jury also found the co-accused guilty of two counts of sexual assault, including oral rape.
This morning, the jury told the court it could not reach an agreement on the final two counts, meaning the Director of Public Prosecutions will have to decide whether a new trial should take place to prosecute these two counts – one of rape for the first accused, and one of sexual assault for the co-accused.
The complainant had been drinking in her house with her family and the female friend on the night, before sneaking out to meet three boys, including the two accused, in an area near her home.
The court heard evidence that after about 45 minutes, the complainant and the two accused separated from the other two teenagers, after which she was raped and sexually assaulted in what the defence had claimed was a consensual threesome.
The complainant said she was passed between the two men several times, she was just drunk and clueless in the middle of the two men, and that she did not give consent to this threesome.
The court also heard evidence relating to four other alleged incidents of rape and sexual assault from the same night.
The complainant attended court each day with members of her family, and appeared to be in tears as the jury gave its six guilty verdicts against the two co-accused.
This morning, Junior Counsel for the prosecution, Tom Rice, said that as the two accused have been convicted of sexual offences, they will both have to be placed on the sex offenders register.
Mr Justice Michael MacGrath remanded the first accused in custody to Cork Prison, and the co-accused to detention in Obertstown Children Detention Campus, as he is still a minor.
The two accused are due to be sentenced in early March.
