Saintfield man on rape charge must face a new trial

Saintfield man on rape charge must face a new trial

12 July 2011

A SAINTFIELD man accused of rape must undergo a new trial after the jury was discharged.

Judge Philip Babington cited “personal reasons” for his decision to release the jury more than a week into the trial of 32-year-old Hugh Francis Patrick Flynn at Downpatrick Crown Court.

The alleged offence took place more eight years ago with the defendant, of Killyleagh Road, linked to it by DNA evidence last December.

Mr Flynn denied the charge throughout.

The alleged victim told the jury she met him at a bar in Bangor on a Saturday night in June 2003, when she was 19.

She said she had been “chatted up” by Mr. Flynn, then 24, inside the licensed premises on High Street where she was socialising with a number of friends.

The jury had earlier heard that, after going outside towards the end of the evening, she and Mr. Flynn walked to the area now known as the Eisenhower Pier where the alleged attack took place on a bench.

She told the court he pulled at her clothing when she tried to leave, and she attempted to get off the bench but her leg had become jammed. She said she told him to leave her alone and to stop.

The alleged victim, now 27, added that that although she kissed the defendant inside the nightclub, she made it clear that sexual intercourse was not consented to and told him to stop before and during the incident.

After what she said felt “like hours,” the woman walked quickly away from the area, bumping into two friends who took her in a taxi to another friend’s house.

The court heard from the alleged victim’s friend who was in her company that evening.

She said she tried to contact her friend at least seven times on her mobile phone after she left the nightclub with Mr. Flynn.

A number of calls went unanswered but during one call the alleged victim told her friend to go on home without her. The friend said she received a call from her on the way home and she was “hysterical, distressed and crying.”

During police interview in 2010, Mr. Flynn said he remembered the incident and the woman had consented fully.

He told officers she became upset afterwards and began to cry as she was worried about becoming pregnant. Mr. Flynn also denied pulling at her trousers and said: “That girl never asked me to stop”.

After the jury was discharged, Mr. Flynn was remanded on bail. A date has not been set for the new trial.