A 41-YEAR-OLD man accused of raping, assaulting and urinating on a woman has given evidence in court to deny the alleged offences took place.
Michael John O’Brien is on trial in the Royal Court facing charges of rape, sexual activity without consent and also voyeurism, for allegedly taking intimate photographs on his mobile phone of the acts without consent.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Earlier in the trial, the alleged victim told the court that she and Mr O’Brien had been drinking together before the alleged incidents.
She said that she fell asleep and woke to find Mr O’Brien on top of her, raping her.
Answering questions from Advocate James Corbett, defending, Mr O’Brien said that the woman consented to the sexual acts and the photographs.
He also claimed he had been too drunk to have had intercourse with her.
He said: “We were chatting, it was a little bit flirtatious. A couple of times I went in to give her a peck.”
Mr O’Brien said he offered to give her a massage after the woman complained of a pain in her leg which he claimed led to consensual sexual touching.
He also claimed the woman consented to having her photos taken as long as he did not show her face. And he denied that the woman had been asleep, saying: “I would say she was conscious.”
Advocate Corbett said: “She said she found you on top of her.”
He said: “That never happened.”
Mr O’Brien also said that the pair had later fallen asleep on the couch and he wet himself.
The advocate said: “She said you stood in front of her and urinated on her.”
He replied: “I jumped up. There could have been a point where I briefly urinated on her but it wasn’t deliberate.”
Mr O’Brien described being “shocked and baffled” by his arrest.
Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit, prosecuting, asked Mr O’Brien: “Did you have sexual intercourse with the woman?”
He said: “I’m positive I didn’t.”
Advocate Maletroit said: “I suggest that you have invented this story to tell the jury. Do you agree?”
Mr O’Brien said: “No, I strongly disagree.”
He denied going to the flat expecting the woman to have a sexual interaction with him, when asked by Advocate Maletroit.
The trial is expected to conclude on Thursday. Commissioner Sir William Bailhache is presiding.
