A young woman who was driven to a beach and raped in a car by three teenagers has described how she endured two trials and several days of “cruel” cross-examination in her fight for justice.
ion Genocky (23), Troy Ryan (24) and Daryl Rooney (24) were 17 and 18 years old when they took the then 18-year-old teen to Dollymount Strand six years ago, where they took turns raping her.
The court heard that after being raped by the three men, the woman had to get into a second car that had arrived at the scene. Two more men from that car raped her when they left her on the beach. These men are not in court.
Genocky of Clarion Quay Apartments, Rooney of Railway Street and Ryan of Lower Gardiner Street, all in central Dublin, were convicted of raping the woman on Bull Island, Dollymount, Dublin, on 5 January 2016, after a second trial at the Central Criminal Criminal Court this year.
The jury in the first trial, which was held in 2020, was unable to reach a verdict.
At a verdict hearing today, the court was filled with supporters who had written testimonies on behalf of the three men and were present for questioning.
Eilis Brennan SC, on the defense, said she didn’t have to cross-examine these people because they had all stated that they were aware of the rape convictions.
Judge David Keane said he would accept the testimonies on that basis and the court was acquitted, leaving only two to three supporters for each man in court. The woman was not present in person at the court and made her victim statement via a video link.
She told the court that her life had been on hold for the past six years.
“I anxiously waited for the day when they would get away with the pain and trauma they inflicted on me,” she said.
“I never felt like myself again after they raped me and scared me for my safety.”
The woman said she had to endure two trials in which she was interrogated “for days” and “cruelly interrogated” about her past and her childhood, much of which was spent in care. “I didn’t feel like a victim,” she said.
“My mental health has suffered so much since they raped me,” she said. She told the court that she struggled with a drug addiction and that she will never get these years back.
“I fought hard to get justice,” she said. “I didn’t give up. I didn’t give up when I was threatened. I fought back. I fought back to get justice for me and for the safety of other women.”
The woman concluded her statement by saying she hopes the three men “pay for the pain, trauma and loss they cost me that night”.
Sergeant Paul Sweeney told Ms Brennan that the young woman, who had recently left state care, had traveled to Dublin on the day in question to meet friends. Later that evening, she bought some Xanax pills and then went to an Internet cafe.
While there, she was approached by a boy and told her that the three teenagers, whom she had never met before, wanted to talk to her. The men told her they wanted to take her for a “quick turn”.
The woman initially refused but eventually agreed and left the cafe with Ryan (17) and Rooney (18) to get outside in a car driven by Genocky (17). During the trial, camera images were shown from the internet cafe.
The court heard that the men drove to Clontarf and drove to the end of the wooden bridge at Dollymount Strand, where they stopped at a shelter. Genocky then asked the woman, “Can we have some fun?”
The woman answered no, she didn’t want to and she only wanted to drive for a while, but the men “won’t listen”, the court heard.
Genocky and Rooney got out of the car and stood in the shelter while Ryan retrieved a condom from a stash in the glove compartment of the car and began raping the woman. When he was done, Genocky got in and put on a condom.
Genocky tried to “talk to” the woman, the court heard and said he would not hurt her before raping her.
Genocky then handed a condom to Rooney who raped the woman. At this stage, the woman “didn’t even get a chance to say no.” It was “three to one” and she had no choice, the court heard.
The trial heard that her door had a child lock and that she couldn’t get out of the car the entire time she was there.
The woman was told that another person would pick her up and take her home and the men quickly left the scene. Another car arrived with three men and she was raped by two of the men in this car. She said the men then all got in the car, laughed and drove off, leaving her in the middle of nowhere.
The court heard cell phones from one of the men’s phones indicating that he had called an occupant of the second car.
The woman immediately called 999 and was taken to the hospital. The men were identified on CCTV footage from the internet cafe and arrested in 2018.
Genocky testified at the trial, saying he never disrespected a woman in his life. The defense attorney claimed the woman had engaged in sex and Genocky said the woman was treated with nothing but respect by himself and his “two gentlemen friends”.
Genocky has no previous convictions, while Ryan has 24 previous convictions, including for theft and drugs.
Rooney has 225 previous convictions, including violent disorder, drugs, public order, trespass, theft and traffic cases. All three have been incarcerated since April, when they were found guilty.
The court heard that the men all have partners who were in court to support them. They are now fathers, except for Ryan, whose partner is pregnant with their first child.
The defense counsel submitted a number of reports and testimonies on behalf of the men. mr. Justice Keane adjourned the case until October 21, when their pleas for moderation will be heard.