A member of the All-Ireland winning Armagh GAA team has been charged with sexual assault.
Aidan Nugent (30), with an address at Cullyhanna Road, Newtownhamilton, on Tuesday appeared for the first time at Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Newry.
Mr Nugent, a former Armagh captain, stood in the dock and confirmed his name and date of birth before the charges were put to him.
He faces four charges relating to one female complainant, two of sexual assault and two of causing a person to engage in a sexual act.
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The offences allegedly took place on November 17th last during the Armagh GAA team’s trip to Miami, Florida to celebrate their All-Ireland senior football championship win.
A solicitor representing Mr Nugent said his client denies all the allegations.
A PSNI investigating officer said he believed he could connect the accused to each of the offences.
The detective confirmed the complainant first contacted police two days after the alleged incident. She then attended a police station on November 20th last to carry out her “initial sexual crime log”.
Police called to Mr Nugent’s home address on December 10th, when he was not in, and he voluntarily presented himself to Banbridge police station later that afternoon, the court heard.
Mr Nugent was bailed until March 31st when he was further interviewed by police and had the majority of his bail conditions removed. He remains under an instruction to not have any contact with the complainant “directly or indirectly”.
Mr Nugent’s solicitor said that when his client was interviewed by police last month, he claimed that “any sexual activity was consensual”. When he was formally charged with the offences on April 14th, Mr Nugent replied: “I deny the allegations – it was consensual.”
The PSNI detective agreed with Mr Nugent’s solicitor when he said there have been no allegations of any breaches of bail or allegations of witness intimidation.
Last November, the wider Armagh GAA squad travelled to the Eden Roc resort in Miami Beach to celebrate the county’s first All-Ireland title in 22 years. They defeated Galway in the final at Croke Park in July. Players, the management team, family members and other senior figures from the Armagh County Board spent a week in Miami.
On Tuesday, a prosecution lawyer asked for Mr Nugent’s bail conditions to continue, stating that he should have “no contact, by any means” with the complainant.
She also sought further conditions, asking for no contact with two named witnesses “except for the purposes of football”, but this was refused by District Judge Anne Marshall, who did not alter the current bail conditions.
The case was adjourned to June 3rd and Mr Nugent was told he did not need to attend the next hearing.
