Brazilian mother of five accused of importing €76,000 of cocaine to Ireland
Cleoviany Pedrosa (25) passed 96 pellets of drug at hospital after her arrest, court told
Today at 21:30
Prosecutors have been given more time to prepare their case against a woman accused of importing €76,000 of cocaine by ingesting it before flying to Ireland.
Mother-of-five Cleoviany Pedrosa (25), who passed nearly 100 pellets of the drug at a hospital after her arrest, told gardaí she had come to celebrate St Patrick's Day as a tourist, a court heard.
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Extra.ie
4 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Dublin firefighter's DNA not identified conclusively in Boston rape case
The DNA of Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie was not conclusively identified on the woman he is accused of raping last year, Mr Crosbie's Boston trial heard on Thursday. Two DNA experts took to the stand on the fourth day of the rape trial stating that the 39-year-old's genetic material was not found on his alleged victim when she went to hospital, according to reports in the Boston Globe. Mr Crosbie was visiting Boston with the Dublin Fire Brigade to take part in the 2024 St Patrick's Day parade and is alleged to have raped a 29-year-old lawyer while his colleague slept in the same hotel room. He has pleaded not guilty. Terence Crosbie. 'Your testing did not identify Terence Crosbie on the genital swab?' defence attorney Patrick Garrity asked an expert on DNA analysis, the Boston Globe said. The DNA analyst replied: 'It did not identify that individual on the genital swab, correct.' The analyst, Alexis DeCesaris, testified that while DNA from two males was found in the woman's genital swab, the amount was too small to compare to a person's genetic profile. Pic: Omni Parker House During her testimony, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stated that she had met Mr Crosbie's fellow firefighter Liam O'Brien at an Irish bar on March 14, 2024. She alleged that after returning to Mr O'Brien's hotel room at the Omni Parker House hotel she had consensual sex with Mr O'Brien. She stated this week to the jury of nine men and six women that she went to the other bed in the room because of Mr O'Brien's loud snoring and got under the covers naked, unaware that he was sharing the room with Mr Crosbie, who was not present at the time. Terence Crosbie. 'I woke up, and a guy was inside of me,' the woman testified, tears streaming down her face as she read a text message she sent to a friend shortly after the alleged attack. The woman stated that she believed it was not Mr O'Brien because he was bald and the person on top of her was not. She later attended Massachusetts General Hospital in the early hours of the next morning. A nurse who treated the woman and completed an 'evidence collection kit,' as well as a doctor involved in the treatment, testified to a 'tear' in the woman's vaginal area, but said that it was possible that this could have happened as a result of consensual sex, the Globe reported. Pic: Omni Parker House In Mr Crosbie's police interview played to the trial he said that he had visited Irish pubs in Boston on the night in question before making his way back to the shared hotel room. Mr Crosbie said he was the first back to the room, but when Mr O'Brien returned with a woman he had been talking to at pub, he left to give them some privacy. He claimed he had waited on a chair beside the hotel's lifts and eventually returned to the room. The court heard Mr Crosbie tell police that the room was pitch black and he used the light of his phone to find his way into his bed, which he claimed was empty. He said he removed his outer clothing and lay down and that several minutes later, he heard the woman who was with Mr O'Brien 'rummaging around' for her things and leaving the room. Rebecca Boissaye, a criminalist at the Boston Police Crime Lab, testified on Thursday that she performed the initial DNA testing on samples from the woman's evidence collection kit, taken hours after the alleged assault. On a breast swab from the woman, she and Mr O'Brien were included as DNA sources, Ms Boissaye said, and Mr Crosbie was 'excluded'. Lawyers for Mr Crosbie asked several times if it was correct that Mr Crosbie's DNA was not found in the woman's swabs. 'In the profiles detected, he was not included,' Ms Boissaye responded. Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy asked why skin cells might not be detected during testing. 'We don't always have enough DNA to detect the skin cells a person may have left behind,' Ms Boissaye said. The trial heard that a detective arrived at Mr Crosbie's hotel the day after the alleged assault to arrest Mr Crosbie, and was told he was not there. He had booked a flight from Boston to Dublin at 7.10pm that evening. Mr Crosbie was removed from the plane and taken into custody. He has been in jail in Boston since his arrest.
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Extra.ie
Dublin firefighter denies contact with woman in Boston rape trial
Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie told US police that he had no physical contact with the woman he is accused of raping, his trial heard on Wednesday. Mr Crosbie, 39, was visiting Boston with the Dublin Fire Brigade to take part in the St Patrick's Day parade last year and is alleged to have raped a 29-year-old lawyer, while his colleague slept in the same hotel room. He has pleaded not guilty. The third day of the trial included Boston Police Detective Joseph McDonough describing the sexual assault investigation that led to Mr Crosbie's arrest the evening after the alleged incident. A 20-minute tape-recorded interview of Mr Crosbie was also played for the jury of nine men and six women, the Boston Globe reported. The firefighter was asked if he had 'any interactions' with a woman in the Omni Parker Hotel in the centre of Boston in the room he was sharing with fellow Dublin firefighter Liam O'Brien. He responded 'no'. Mr Crosbie said he never touched or spoke to the woman. Mr McDonough asked him: 'Would you be surprised if she said differently?'. Terence Crosbie. Mr Crosbie replied: 'Absolutely I would.' When asked if she was crying when she left, he said: 'I don't know, she didn't show that she was crying'. In another audio recording, Mr Crosbie asked if he could take a walk outside for some fresh air before continuing the interview. He told the detective that he 'felt like getting sick'. At another point during the interview, he asked: 'Am I being accused of something or is Liam being accused of something.' The woman in the case, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attended Massachusetts General Hospital and said she was sexually assaulted at the hotel earlier that morning on March 15. In Mr. Crosbie's police interview played to the trial he said he visited Boston Irish pubs such as The Dubliner and The Black Rose before making his way back to the shared hotel room. Mr Crosbie said that he was first back to the room, but when Mr O'Brien returned with a woman he had been talking to at The Black Rose, he left to give them some privacy. He claimed he had waited on a chair beside the hotel's lifts and eventually returned to the room. The court heard Mr Crosbie tell police that the room was pitch black and he used the light of his phone to find his way into his bed, which he claimed was empty. He said he removed his outer clothing and lay down and that several minutes later, he heard the woman who was with Mr O'Brien 'rummaging around' for her things and leaving the room. During her testimony, the woman said that after having consensual sex with Mr O'Brien, she went to the other bed in the room because of his loud snoring and got under the covers naked, unaware that Mr O'Brien was sharing the room. She stated that she 'woke up to somebody on top of me', raping her. The woman stated that she believed it was not Mr O'Brien because he was bald and the person on top of her was not. On cross-examination, Mr Crosbie's lawyer Daniel C. Reilly asked the Boston detective, Mr McDonough, about his initial interview with the woman after meeting her at the hospital, where she was admitted just after 3am. Mr Reilly told jurors that Mr Crosbie's DNA was not found on the woman. Mr McDonough told the court that the woman did not report seeing any tattoos on her assailant. 'His booking photos indicate he has tattoos, correct?' Mr Reilly asked. 'Yes, it does,' the detective stated, according to the Boston Globe. The detective also provided a timeline about the movements of the woman, Mr Crosbie, and Mr O'Brien through Boston on the night in question. He said the woman and Mr O'Brien were seen entering the Omni Parker House hotel at 11:51 p.m and that Mr Crosbie arrived on the sixth floor of the hotel just before midnight. The detective stated that Mr Crosbie briefly stopped at the shared hotel room and then went to the opposite end of the hallway, where he sat in a chair until about 1:55 a.m. At 2:16 a.m., the hotel door is reopened and the woman is seen leaving the hotel, according to the detective. Detective McDonough stated that later on March 15, after reaching a standard of probable cause to arrest Mr Crosbie, he returned to the hotel with a colleague and was informed that Mr Crosbie was not there. Mr Crosbie had booked an airline ticket on a flight from Boston to Dublin at 7:10pm that evening and was removed from the boarded plane and taken into custody. He has been held in the Nashua Street jail in Boston since his arrest. The trial continues in Boston.
Extra.ie
3 days ago
- Extra.ie
US court hears opening statements in Irish firefighter's trial on rape charge
The trial of an Irish firefighter accused of raping a woman in Boston on St Patrick's Day weekend last year has heard how the woman's 'nightmare began as she woke up'. Terence Crosbie was part of a group of Dublin Fire Brigade members who went to Massachusetts in March 2024. The alleged victim in the case told officers that she was socialising with friends of Mr Crosbie at Irish pub the Black Rose. The District Attorney's office, which is prosecuting the case, said that the two were spotted together on the bar's CCTV. Terence Crosbie was part of a group of Dublin Fire Brigade members who went to Massachusetts in March 2024. The alleged victim told police Mr Crosbie sexually assaulted her at the historic Omni Parker House hotel after she had consensual sex with his colleague, with whom he was sharing the hotel room. 'Our nightmares belong in our sleep and our nightmares are supposed to end when we wake up,' the prosecuting lawyer, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Daniela Mendes, said in her opening statement to the jury. 'Her nightmare began when she woke up,' Ms Mendes said. 'When [Crosbie] entered that hotel room, he saw that [the victim] was asleep, and that she was vulnerable and defenceless. He saw an opportunity, and he took full, violent advantage of it,' Ms Mendes added. The alleged victim told police Mr Crosbie sexually assaulted her at the historic Omni Parker House hotel after she had consensual sex with his colleague, with whom he was sharing the hotel room. Pic: Omni Parker House The prosecutor added that the alleged victim had tried to push Mr Crosbie way and said, 'What are you doing? Stop!', according to a police report that was read out in the court. Crosbie allegedly said, 'This guy is sleeping. I know you want this. He fell asleep', according to the woman. The prosecution's case is that the woman had gone back to the hotel with another man earlier that night. 'She did not sign up to be raped in her sleep by that man's hotel roommate,' the prosecuting lawyer told the court. Dublin firefighter Terence Crosbie. Mr Crosbie's defence lawyer, Patrick Garrity, told the jury: 'The evidence will show you that there is a lot of doubt.' Mr Garrity began his opening statement by placing his hands on Mr Crosbie's shoulder and telling the jury he went by the name Terry. Mr Crosbie is 'seated here because this is the only avenue he has to deny these allegations', he told the jury. 'We don't convict people on maybes or what-ifs. We don't convict people on emotion, and this is going to be an emotional case,' he said. Mr Crosbie, who denies the charge, has been held at Nashua Street jail in Boston since his arrest last year. Mr Crosbie was detained at Boston Logan International Airport as he attempted to fly back to Ireland. Pic: Leena Robinson/Shutterstock The 38-year-old was detained at Boston Logan International Airport as he attempted to fly back to Ireland. He was charged on March 18 with the alleged rape of a woman at Omni Parker House on March 14, and pleaded not guilty. The criminal justice system in the US differs from Ireland. In cases of rape here, a statement of complaint is made to gardaí, usually after the victim attends a sexual assault treatment unit. A file is then prepared for the DPP containing interviews with the victim, as well as any other evidence such as DNA evidence, CCTV footage etc. However, in the US you can be charged with rape a lot faster – and unlike in Ireland you can be named straight away. In the case involving the fire brigade member, the alleged victim came forward and made a complaint. This has been the main evidence used to charge him. In a statement following his arrest, Mr Crosbie's employer said: 'Dublin Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer has been made aware that the Boston Police Department have begun a criminal investigation into an alleged serious case involving a member of Dublin Fire Brigade. 'The firefighter has immediately been placed on leave. 'We cannot comment on the specific circumstances but we would reiterate the high standards that we expect from all who represent our organisation at any event. 'As a result, we are conducting an internal investigation and establishing the facts in collaboration with the appropriate authorities and the organisers of the delegation. 'As this is a criminal investigation, we will not be making any further comment at this time.'
