THE LISTOWEL man who was convicted on December 4 of sexually assaulting a woman in a car park in Listowel in June 2008 claimed in court that the incident had been consensual and that his accuser had in fact suggested going somewhere quieter and subsequently asked him to have sex with her.

Danny Foley, of Meen, Listowel, was found by gardaí crouched over the woman in a car park as she lay on the ground, naked from the waist down, semi conscious and mumbling, Tralee Circuit Court heard during the three-day trial.

THE PROSECUTION

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave evidence of meeting Mr Foley, whom she knew, in the Mermaid's nightclub in Listowel in June 2008 and giving him a hug because it was his birthday. She claimed that he insisted on buying her a shot and once she took a sip from the Black Russian he bought she began to feel unwell. She told him her mouth was on fire and she wanted a 'WKD' drink which he bought, but she did not finish it. The court heard she had had some drinks earlier in the night at varous pubs.

The woman, who was aged 22 at the time, said she felt sick, dizzy and light headed and that Mr Foley insisted on walking her home and that they left the nightclub together.

CCTV footage shown in court showed a man and woman enter a car park near the nightclub, with Mr Foley carrying the woman in his arms. The woman said she remembered being carried but did not know why. She agreed that she was not resisting Mr Foley at that stage.

While the woman said that her memory of what happened next was very hazy, she remembered later being frightened and struggling with Mr Foley as he tried to take her trousers off.

She said that the accused was trying to get on top of her and that she was saying no, and asked him how he could do this to her. She accused Mr Foley of pinning her down, holding her wrists and trying to rip the top button of her trousers open. The woman said that she passed out a number of times during the incident, but clearly remembers struggling and holding on to the waistline of her trousers on both sides to keep them on.

"I passed out after that and when I woke up my pants were off me," she told the court.

Garda John White told the court he and a colleague came upon Mr Foley and the woman in the carpark at around 3.50am while on routine patrol. Garda White said Mr Foley was kneeling over the woman who was naked from the waist down and semi-conscious. He said her eyes were closed and her head was rolling from left to right and she was mumbling.

Mr Foley initially told gardaí he happened upon the young woman as he was relieving himself, but later confessed he had been with her. This confession was made before he was questioned by gardaí, the court was told.

A medical report from the sexual assault unit in Cork outlined injuries the woman sustained including bruises and scratches on her back, and bruises and scratches from the knee to the foot on both legs. She also had bruising on her wrists. The report concluded that the injuries were consistent with an assault and/or being dragged along the ground but there was no clinical evidence of sexual assault.

THE DEFENCE

Mr Foley told the court that he and his accuser had met at the disco as described, but that the woman has asked him for a drink to 'make her get drunk fast.'

He said that they left the nightclub together, having kissed and cuddled for a while in the smoking area. Mr Foley said that the pair had stopped in an alcove and were kissing and cuddling when the woman asked him to go somewhere quieter. He said she was sober enough to consent to sexual activity and insisted that the woman took off her own jeans before asking him to have sex with her.

Mr Foley said that he would never take advantage of a woman as he is 'not like that' and that both had engaged in oral sex with each other but no sexual intercourse took place.

Defence counsel, Patrick Whyms, said two of the woman's friends gave evidence that she was not drunk when they were last speaking to her after 2am, and that she left the nightclub (as seen on CCTV) arm in arm with the accused man. He said that the incident in the car park had taken place between 2.32am and 3.47am and argued that it was incredible that the incident could have been going on for that long without it being consensual.

Mr Whyms said the woman had huge gaps in her story and it was too convenient that she could only remember details that are consistent with her story.

He said that the woman was brought to the sexual assault unit where 'no evidence of a sexual assault of any kind' was found, adding that this was what his client was being accused of.

THE VERDICT

On Friday afternoon, December 4, a jury of 10 men and two women asked to see some of the CCTV footage again, before returning shortly afterwards with a unanimous guilty verdict. On December 16, Mr Foley was sentenced to seven years in prison, with Judge Donagh McDonagh suspending the last two. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

- MARISA REIDY