A BOUNCER accused of raping a young man in a laneway told the Central Criminal Court he was bi-sexual.
He claimed the alleged victim had "come on" to him and consented to sexual activity. But when he attempted to have anal sex, the young man seemed uncomfortable so he stopped. The alleged victim then ran off.
The 33-year-old man, who worked part-time in a Co Kildare pub, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the alleged victim by penetration and of sexually assaulting him on February 5th 1994.
The 23-year-old alleged victim told him he had had previous sexual experience with young men but did not outline the extent of it the defendant told his counsel Mr Michael McMahon SC. "I felt he had gone beyond something he was used to."
He also referred to a previous time in a pub toilet when the alleged victim was drunk.
On the night of the incident the alleged victim sat talking to him as he attempted to start his car on leaving a pub. "I asked if he was coming across the road and he just said Yes. A lot of people in the town knew the way I was. The way he was talking and coming on to me, I thought he did, too."
The defendant said they went into the laneway where they kissed and fondled. They also performed oral sex. They moved further into the lane for more privacy and continued kissing and fondling. He told the alleged victim he wanted sex, but after about a minute there was a "sudden change" in the young man and he ran off.
Cross-examined by Mr Michael Feehan SC, prosecuting, the defendant agreed the one major difference between his and the alleged victim's accounts was the issue of consent. He denied a claim by the alleged victim that he had threatened to kill him in the laneway.
Another witness said he was leaving the pub when he saw the alleged victim sitting in the defendant's car. When he asked the alleged victim if he was walking home in his direction, the man said he would sit with the defendant. Later he saw both walking towards the laneway. He was "nearly sure" they were hand-in-hand.
The trial continues.