Irish firefighter accused of rape in Boston hotel appears for probable cause hearing
A MARRIED Irish firefighter accused of raping a woman in a Boston hotel over St Patrick’s Day weekend has appeared in court for a probable cause hearing.
Terence Crosbie, 37, was charged in March with one count of rape after a 28-year-old woman told police she had been sexually assaulted at the historic Omni Parker House hotel.
Mr Crosbie appeared at Boston Municipal court on Tuesday wearing a navy T-shirt layered over a long-sleeved white shirt, dark pants, sneakers, and handcuffs.
The married father attempted to flee the country on March 16 after being interviewed by authorities about his alleged crime. Mr Crosbie, a member of the Dublin Fire Brigade, is due back in court for an evidentiary hearing on May 1.
His attorneys Daniel Reilly and Patrick Garrity spent the morning persuading Judge James Stanton to delay the probable cause hearing. Their client remains in jail on a $100,000 bail request.
Court documents indicate that the alleged victim met Mr Crosbie’s friend at the bar The Black Rose and returned to the hotel, where Mr Crosbie and the friend were sharing a room.
The woman and the friend then had consensual sex in the room.
Surveillance video shows Mr Crosbie returning to the hotel some two hours later, after which the woman says she awoke to the horror of being sexually assaulted by Mr Crosbie.
She said she told him to stop and he responded: ‘This guy is sleeping. I know you want this.’
Authorities found out that Mr Crosbie had travelled to Boston from Dublin with several other members of the Dublin Fire Brigade for the weekend.
After he was interviewed by police on March 16, he immediately attempted to leave the country. He booked an evening flight for the night of the interview, several days ahead of his scheduled departure date. Mr Crosbie actually boarded a flight scheduled to depart even earlier than the one he’d booked, but members of the Massachusetts State Police stopped the plane on the tarmac and apprehended Mr Crosbie.
At the time, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said the department was grateful for the ‘willingness of the victim to come forward’ and ‘deserved enormous credit for doing that in this case’.
Mr Hayden added: ‘I’m grateful for the alertness of police in finding out that Mr Crosbie was attempting to leave the country before he could be held accountable for his actions.’
Authorities ordered Mr Crosbie be held on $100,000 bail and surrender his passport. He was further ordered not to leave the state of Massachusetts.
When the Dublin Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer was made aware about his employee’s allegedly activities abroad, he placed Mr Crosbie on leave immediately.