The complainant in the trial of a serving garda accused of sexual assault at a Garda station in Co Wicklow has said she “absolutely did not” consent to any sexual contact.
William Ryan (38) has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault and not guilty to one count of false imprisonment of a woman at Aughrim Garda station, Main Street, Aughrim, Co Wicklow, on September 29th, 2020.
It is the State's case that Mr Ryan prevented the complainant from leaving Aughrim Garda station and sexually assaulted her three times.
The woman had gone to the station for advice about retrieving her son's car, which had been seized by gardaí the previous day in Co Carlow.
Gda Ryan denies the allegations.
Asked by Maurice Coffey SC, prosecuting, if she consented to any of the alleged sexual contact, she replied “absolutely not.”
Earlier on Thursday, the complainant told the jury she went to Aughrim Garda station to speak to Gda Ryan about the process to retrieve her son's impounded car.
She said Gda Ryan brought her into the station through a side door, and they spoke in the public office about her concerns. He then sexually assaulted her, she alleged.
Continuing her evidence, she said she tried to leave and Gda Ryan, who was standing in the hall, made a lewd comment before telling her she had to return the favour.
She said she had her phone and showed him a photo of her on holiday.
She said he then grabbed her breasts under her top. She said it was very quick and rough, and told him to stop, telling him she had a husband and that she wanted to leave.
She told Mr Coffey SC that she did not feel she could leave as Gda Ryan was blocking the door.
I didn’t want to be there, I froze in the moment
Later in her evidence, the complainant said: “I felt I couldn’t leave. I felt the things he was saying, I had to stay until he had done what he done.”
The complainant said Gda Ryan asked her to go upstairs, and she told him she wanted to leave. She said he told her: “If you go upstairs, you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to look at me and can turn your back to me.”
The complainant said she froze and was not sure what was going to happen next.
She said Mr Ryan locked the door before he ushered her upstairs. She said she suggested he go first, thinking she could get out, but he put his hand on her shoulder as they went upstairs.
She repeated she wanted to leave, and he replied: “It won’t take long, so the sooner it’s done, the quicker I can go.”
She said they initially went into a conference room, before going to the shower room. She described facing the window while Gda Ryan was standing behind her.
She said she heard him unzip his trousers, then put his hands on his penis. She also heard him moaning.
She said she continued to look out the window and “couldn’t believe this was happening”. “I didn’t want to be there, I froze in the moment,” she added.
She said Gda Ryan placed her hand on his penis, and she pulled it away. She said he grabbed her hand again and put it on his penis. He also pulled down her leggings and touched her buttocks. She said he then sexually assaulted her by digitally penetrating her vagina.
She said the entire incident lasted around seven or eight minutes. Afterwards, she said Gda Ryan told her to wash her hands in the sink, which she did.
He then started “making conversation”, but she was thinking: “Where has he been for the last 10 minutes?”
She said she wanted to leave as quickly as possible and nearly fell downstairs.
They can basically do what they want
She said Gda Ryan unlocked the door for her and as she left, he told her to ring him if there were any issues about her son's car.
“I was thinking what the hell? Did you think what happened was normal? It felt like he was being normal, and I was afraid for my life.”
She said she got into her car and her husband called her to ask about how things went at the Garda station. She replied “f**king horrendous” and would tell him later.
She went home, where she washed and changed her clothes. She put her leggings and t-shirt into the laundry, but placed her top, which was wet, into the wardrobe.
A navy zip top was shown to the complainant, who confirmed it belonged to her.
She said, later that day, she and her husband gave their son a “stern talking-to” about the car. After this, they were alone, and she told him what had happened at the Garda station.
“I told more or less everything. He said: 'That shouldn’t have happened.' I said 'I know, but he’s a guard, they can basically do what they want.'”
Later, she clarified that she did not give him full details that evening about what had happened in the shower room.
She said she saw Gda Ryan the next day while she was out, and he asked her about her son's car. She said their conversation was very brief.
The complainant said she made a formal complaint to Gardaí about a month later and confirmed she gave them the zip top and her phone.
Under cross-examination, she agreed with Breffni Gordon BL, defending, that she put the zip top in a bag before putting it in her wardrobe.
When asked why, she said she had a “feeling” about it and accepted that she wore the zip top while sitting in her car after the alleged incident. She said she could not recall if she told her husband about the zip top that evening.
She agreed with Mr Gordon that she had messaged Gda Ryan before the day in question, but said it was not often and only about advice of an official nature.
Mr Gordon suggested it was “a very strange thing to do if you are under sexual attack and want to get away from a person making these unwelcome unsolicited advances” to take out your phone and show them a photo.
The woman replied: “In that second, I wanted to leave. I knew he wasn’t going to let me out. I decided to give him something, so I could get out.”
Mr Gordon put it to her that she was willingly showing photos on her phone to his client, which she rejected.
Defence counsel showed the complainant two photos, and she agreed it was possible they were displayed as tiles on her phone when she opened her camera app.
Mr Gordon suggested it would have been odd for his client to tell her on a call that he was going to have a shower and to ask her to wear something tight. She said she was more concerned about her son's car and had only had about three hours’ sleep.
She rejected the suggestion that she had previously engaged in “banter” with Gda Ryan, but agreed he was considered a “friendly guard” by people in the town and many others had his phone number.
The trial continues before Judge Elma Sheahan and the jury.
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.
Eimear Dodd
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