Rape accused told gardai he was being "set up"

Two men from Leitrim have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to charges of rape arising from an alleged incident in a flat in the county in 2017. The prosecution alleges that on two occasions during one night, a woman regained consciousness to find herself being raped by the defendants. The second accused also denies oral rape. The accused men, now in their 20s and known to the complainant from school, have entered pleas of not guilty. During the trial before Justice Eileen Creedon, the first defendant told gardaí he was being "set up" and that all sexual contact had been consensual. He claimed the woman later felt betrayed when he left the bedroom to address discomfort with his contact lenses. The prosecution contends the woman was too intoxicated to consent and that the defendant was aware of this. The trial continues.