Analysts “did not identify” the DNA of the Dublin firefighter arrested on rape charges over St Patrick’s Day weekend last year in samples collected from the complainant, a US court has heard.
The complainant, a 29-year-old attorney, claims she was raped last year by Terence Crosbie (38) while his Dublin Fire Brigade colleague Liam O’Brien slept in a separate bed in a shared hotel room. She says she had consensual relations with Mr O’Brien after meeting him at the Black Rose bar in Boston.
She later fell asleep in a separate bed but then awoke to Mr Crosbie raping her.
Mr Crosbie denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty.
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Alexis Decesaris, a DNA analyst, testified on Thursday that a process was conducted to eliminate female DNA and isolate male DNA from samples collected from the complainant. She said the results were “consistent” with there being “two individuals” separate from the complainant who are both male.
Earlier in the day, the court heard from a Boston police crime lab analyst that there was a high likelihood that one of those male profiles belonged to Mr O’Brien.
However, Ms Decesaris, an analyst at Bode Technology,said it was unclear if the second set of male DNA, collected from the complainant’s genitals, was deposited by Mr Crosbie.
Ms Decesaris then faced cross-examination from defence lawyer Patrick Garrity. Addressing her, he said: “Your testing did not identify Terence Crosbie’s DNA on that genital swab, did you?”
Ms Decesaris said that was “correct”.
Under questioning from Suffolk assistant district attorney Erin Murphy, Ms Decesaris again confirmed the finding of “two distinct male contributors” in a sample collected from the complainant.
The jury previously heard a Boston police detective testify that the complainant did not recall Mr O’Brien’s name and did not recall meeting Mr Crosbie before the alleged assault.
The court was told the detective tracked down Mr Crosbie with the help of hotel security footage as well as images of Mr O’Brien and Mr Crosbie provided to him by a federal agent.
He said that on March 16th, 2024 – a day after the woman reported the alleged rape – he approached Mr Crosbie by the lift of the hotel.
Detectives initially asked Mr Crosbie of his whereabouts on March 14th and March 15th.
Mr Crosbie said he was one of 10 members of Dublin Fire Brigade who travelled to Boston to march in the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade.
Mr Crosbie said he had interacted with the woman in the bar and again briefly when she went up to the hotel room with Mr O’Brien. He told detectives he waited in a chair in the corridor outside of room 610 while the complainant and Mr O’Brien were inside, jurors heard.
He told detectives he later knocked on the door, used his phone as a torch and “didn’t see anybody in the bed”. Mr Crosbie said he removed his trousers and shirt, pulled the bed covers off and got into the bed.
A minute and a half later, he said, he “heard a girl moving” and saw her collect her belongings in the dark and leave.
He told detectives he did not have any interactions with the complainant before she left.
When detectives asked whether Mr Crosbie had sex with the woman, he replied: “No, I didn’t touch her.”
Mr Crosbie was arrested later that evening after booking an early flight back to Ireland and boarding an aircraft.
The woman has told the court through tears that she “woke up to somebody on top of me” raping her. She testified that she told him to “stop” and that she eventually managed to manoeuvre her legs off the side of the bed and break free.
According to the complainant, Mr Crosbie continued to follow her around the hotel room. When she collected her clothes and went to the bathroom, she said Mr Crosbie tried to get in and “was jiggling the handle” after she locked the door.
