Courts

Dublin firefighter pleads not guilty to rape at arraignment in Boston

Terence Crosbie (37) denies ‘any sort of sexual contact whatsoever’ with complainant

Terence Crosbie pleaded not guilty to the alleged rape. Photograph: X
Terence Crosbie pleaded not guilty to the alleged rape. Photograph: X
Susan Zalkind
Wed Jun 05 2024 - 20:45

The Dublin firefighter arrested for rape in Boston over St Patrick’s Day weekend was arraigned at the Suffolk County Superior Courthouse on Wednesday.

Terence Crosbie (37) told assistant clerk magistrate Abigail Bryan he was pleading not guilty. Mr Crosbie stood at the side of the courtroom in shackles for the duration of the hearing, brow furrowed, and waived the formal reading of the indictment.

Mr Crosbie denies having “any sort of sexual contact whatsoever” with the 28-year-old complainant according to defence attorney Daniel C Reilly. But assistant district attorney Erin Murphy reviewed the state’s evidence before the clerk magistrate, airing new details in open court.

The defendant is facing charges “in connection to a rape with a female stranger while she was asleep at a Boston hotel”, Ms Murphy said.

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According to Ms Murphy, Mr Crosbie flew into Boston on Thursday, March 14th, with a “broader group” of Dublin fire brigade members in anticipation of marching in Boston’s St Patrick’s Day parade.

That evening, the unidentified 28-year-old female complainant went to an establishment, previously identified as the downtown restaurant and bar The Black Rose, for dinner with co-workers, Ms Murphy said.

There the complainant met another Irish national, Liam O’Brien, one of Mr Crosbie’s fellow fire brigade members, according to Ms Murphy.

Mr O’Brien and Mr Crosbie had booked a shared hotel room together for the trip, Ms Murphy said. The hotel was previously identified as the Omni Parker House, a historic hotel not far from the bar.

According to Ms Murphy, the evidence will reveal that the complainant and Mr O’Brien left The Black Rose together at about 11.30pm and the complainant then consensually entered the hotel room with Mr O’Brien.

[ Dublin firefighter charged with rape on St Patrick’s weekend in Boston back in court ]

[ Case against Dublin firefighter accused of rape in Boston to be moved to higher court ]

Then, according to Ms Murphy, the state has evidence that Mr Crosbie entered the hotel room hours after the couple, at 1.55am, when the young woman was asleep. “The only person who entered the hotel room during the relevant time period was the defendant,” said Ms Murphy.

The woman woke up to Mr Crosbie on top of her, “actively raping her” and penetrating her vaginally, Ms Murphy said. The complainant asked Mr Crosbie to stop but “the defendant did not stop”, said Ms Murphy.

Instead, according to the complainant, Mr Crosbie told the woman he allegedly had not met, that he “knew that she wanted this” and that it was “pathetic” that his colleague was asleep.

When the woman left the hotel room, she “immediately” texted a friend that she had been assaulted. She reported the assault to police later that morning.

When Mr Crosbie was questioned by police the next day, he initially told investigators that he had only been in the hotel room “for one-two minutes” before the victim left and denied assaulting her, according to Ms Murphy.

[ Dublin fire brigade member charged with Boston rape further held on $100,000 cash bail order ]

After he was questioned, Mr Crosbie booked a flight back to Dublin, scheduled to leave later that night at 10.10pm, according to Ms Murphy. Once he arrived at the airport, he got on an earlier flight and boarded. Mr Crosbie was arrested on the plane.

Defence attorney Mr Reilly stated that there was no arrest warrant out at the time of Mr Crosbie’s attempted departure and that his client tried to leave because he was in a “foreign country and he was scared”.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the jury trial was set for one year’s time, June 2nd, 2025.

Mr Crosbie has already spent 81 days behind bars at the Nashua Street Jail, held on $100,000 (€92,000) bail since his arrest – a sum the fire brigade member is unable to pay, according to his attorney. The assistant clerk magistrate ruled to keep the bail at that level due to Mr Crosbie’s “out-of-country ties and attempted flight”.

The next pre-trial hearing is set for August 5th.