Tinder case man in new sex charges

Acquitted but still in custody

THE MAN who was acquitted this week of raping a woman he met on the Tinder dating app is in custody on separate charges of a ‘sexual’ and ‘violent’ nature, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The man – who launched a foulmouthed attack on gardaí after being found not guilty on Friday – has previous convictions for aggravated bodily harm and aggravated rape dating back to when he was a teenager.

The 35-year-old also has convictions for assault, threats to kill and animal cruelty following an argument with an ex-partner when he was in his early 20s. A source told the MoS: ‘He is not a nice guy. The mask slipped when he verbally attacked the gardaí in court after the jury left the room.’

The man, who is college-educated and cannot be named for legal reasons, was found not guilty of raping his Tinder date after driving her up to the Dublin mountains.

He said ‘thank you so much’ when the jury of six men and six women delivered their verdict, then hugged his cousin and father and cried.

Judge Paul Butler said the man was free to go on this matter but Prosecutor Cathleen Noctor BL, said he was in custody on other matters.

After the jury had left, the man shouted at gardaí: ‘You stitch-up scumbag, you stitch-up b ****** , you stitch-up c***.’ Prison officers swiftly led him away after his outburst.

The young woman was comforted by her parents but was reportedly sobbing as she left the court.

During the trial, the accused man had claimed that he had ‘fully consensual sex’ with the woman.

‘At the end of the day, it’s Tinder and she said she was horny,’ he said.

The woman, in her evidence, said she was terrified of the man and had to have sex with him.

The jury was told that the woman was in contact with six other men on Tinder within 36 hours of the alleged rape. She said she wanted to pretend that nothing had happened.

The man had pleaded not guilty to rape at Kilmashogue Lane in Rathfarnham on September 11, 2014.

It was the State’s case that he raped the woman in his car after driving her up to the Dublin mountains.

The defence team had claimed her evidence was not credible.

The jury heard the woman had no intention of making a complaint to gardaí and told her flatmate that it had been the ‘worst date ever’.