Man charged with rape and taser attack on woman in Lisburn home invasion
A man in his 40s has been charged with two counts of rape and multiple other offences after allegedly breaking into a woman's home in Lisburn. A judge refused bail, citing the severity of the alleged attack.
Lisburn man remanded in custody after alleged taser rape and assault
A man in his 40s has been charged with two counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, threats to kill, non-fatal strangulation and causing actual bodily harm, following an alleged attack on a woman in her home, Irish Independent reports.
The charges were heard at a special sitting of Lisburn Magistrates' Court. The accused cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the alleged victim.
Warning: This article contains details of sexual assault.
A detective constable told the court that on 14 August, staff at the Ulster Hospital contacted police after the woman arrived with significant injuries, disclosing that her ex-partner — also present at the hospital — had caused them.
According to the detective, the woman said she had been asleep when she woke to find the defendant had broken into her room and was holding a taser. He physically assaulted her, used the taser against her, covered her mouth with his hand and threatened to kill her before raping her twice.
When he agreed to bring her to hospital, he stopped along a road and discarded the taser, which was subsequently recovered by officers. The woman sustained a broken nose and bruising to her face and neck.
The defendant was arrested at the hospital and provided a pre-prepared statement in which he acknowledged letting himself into the property but denied the offences, claiming everything had been consensual. He was unable, however, to account for the woman's injuries.
Earlier incidents went unpunished
The court heard the alleged attack represented a significant escalation of prior behaviour. On 19 July, the woman had reported the defendant entering her property during the early hours armed with a baseball bat. Three days later, she reported he had turned up again uninvited.
On both occasions, police spoke to the man but took no further action. The incidents were recorded as domestics and no charges were brought.
District Judge Natasha Fitzsimmons pressed the detective on the outcome of those earlier reports. "That's when [the woman] alleged he entered her house with a baseball bat," she said. "And all police did was talk to him?"
The detective confirmed that was the case.
A defence barrister argued the accused was a "reasonable candidate for bail as there is nothing on record for violence or domestic abuse." Judge Fitzsimmons rejected the application.
"The defendant was spoken to by police after the complainant described him previously attending her home, not once but twice uninvited, and on one of those occasions he had a baseball bat," she said. "Despite that he allegedly again entered her home and caused significant injury as well as a very violent rape. I consider there are no bail conditions which could manage the risks."
The defendant is due to appear again by video-link on 7 September.
--- Anyone affected by the issues raised in this article can contact the Rape Crisis Network Ireland helpline at 1800 77 8888.
Source: Irish Independent