The trial has opened at the Central Criminal Court of a Kerry man charged with threatening to kill and attempting to rape a then 17-year-old girl on Christmas Eve two years ago.
The 23-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to three alternative counts of attempted rape, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault of the girl in a Kerry town in the early hours of December 24th, 2004.
He has also pleaded not guilty to a count of threatening to kill the girl and a count of assault with intent to commit rape on the same date.
John Aylmer SC (with Tom Rice), prosecuting, said that it would be the prosecution's case the accused attempted to rape the girl but should the jury not be convinced of this by the evidence they were to consider the alternative counts of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault.
The victim, in giving evidence, agreed with Mr Aylmer that she got a lift into town with a relative on the night of December 23rd, 2004 after she had finished a baby-sitting job where she met several friends in a bar.
She said she had a vodka and Red Bull and a sambuca to drink and remained there until after a draw had finished in the bar at 1 am at which point she went on to a local night club.
She joined her friends who were dancing for a period and then rested while she had a drink.
When she came back to the dance floor she said a man she did not know approached her and they started talking and dancing.
She told him she was leaving and he offered to walk her to a taxi.
They left the night club together and walked through the town until they reached a cul-de -sac which they were recorded on CCTV footage entering together.
They kissed for a while but she said he then put his hands down her top and felt her breasts at which point she asked him to stop and punched him in the chest.
She told Mr Aylmer this made him "cross and angry" and he knocked her to the ground where she landed on her knees. She said he then pulled her jeans and pants down while she shouted "leave me alone".
She said he told her "in a very threatening manner" to "shut up" or he was going to kill her. She said he covered her mouth with his hand to make her stop shouting and she said she "didn't know if he was going to rape me or kill me or both".
She said he was holding her right hand but she was hitting out with her left hand and shouting. ... She said she then heard a man come up and say "leave her alone".
The trial continues before Mr Justice O'Higgins and a jury of three women and nine men.