Man charged with rape granted bail at Mayo court sitting
A MAN charged with 25 counts of rape has been granted bail at Castlebar District Court and made to surrender his passport.
Garda Pamela Davis told the court the accused had been arrested earlier that day.
He made no reply when charged at 10.25 a.m., and she handed him a true copy of each charge sheet.
The charges comprise 12 sample counts of rape and 12 sample counts of rape under Section 4, contrary to the Criminal Law (Rape) Acts, along with one further count of rape. They relate to a period between 2021 and 2022. The DPP has directed trial on indictment.
Garda Davis objected to bail under the O’Callaghan principles, citing the seriousness of the charges and her belief that he might leave the jurisdiction. The court heard no bench warrant had previously issued.
Defence counsel said the accused had been arrested and interviewed in March and there had been no issue since. He told the court his client had lived in the country for around 10 years, had attended college here and was in employment.
Judge Vincent Deane noted that the garda objection rested solely on the first of the O’Callaghan principles, the likelihood of the accused failing to turn up for court.
He said the accused was presumed innocent, had no bench warrants and had attended court since being interviewed in March. He asked whether surrendering a passport would allay concerns.
Gardaí agreed to travel to the accused’s residence immediately for the purposes of surrendering his passport.
The judge said the strength of the evidence and the seriousness of the offences, the second most serious to come before the courts, were not in themselves grounds for refusing bail.
The judge added that he was interviewed in March and has not taken flight since and therefore, he was inclined to grant bail.
Bail was granted on condition the accused sign on daily at a garda station and surrender his passport. He was remanded on bail to November 19 for the book of evidence.
* Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.