Garda found guilty of assaulting teenager in Temple Bar
Lorcan Murphy, 32, of Pearse Street Garda Station pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
The assaults on the then 17-year-old took place on Essex Street in Dublin city and Pearse Street Garda Station on 1 June 2021.
After four hours and 20 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned unanimous verdicts of guilty on both counts.
There was complete silence in the court after the jury delivered its verdict.
Judge Pauline Codd thanked the jurors for their service.
She adjourned the matter for sentencing until 3 November next, in order to prepare a probation report and a victim impact statement.
She remanded Murphy on continuing bail.
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Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
Man who claimed he was an Irish orphan after trying to fake his death is found guilty of sexual assault
A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of a 2008 rape after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents took the stand. Rossi said he was the victim of mistaken identity, claiming to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was being framed. Months of court proceedings in Edinburgh followed but in November 2022, Sheriff Norman McFadyen determined the man claiming to be Knight was indeed Rossi. The verdict came hours after Rossi, 38, declined to testify on his own behalf. He will be sentenced in the case on October 20 and is set to stand trial in September for another rape charge in Utah County. First-degree felony rape carries a punishment in Utah of five years to life in prison, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. Mr Gill said: 'We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place. 'We appreciate her patience as we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could take place and she could get justice. 'It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable.' Utah authorities began searching for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, when he was identified through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018. He was among thousands of rape suspects identified and later charged when the state made a push to clear its rape kit backlog. Months after he was charged in Utah County, an online obituary claimed Rossi had died on February 29 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But police in his home state of Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, cast doubt on whether he was dead. He was arrested in Scotland the following year while receiving treatment for Covid-19 after hospital staff in Glasgow recognised his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol notice. A hearing took place in June 2023, with Sheriff McFadyen ruling there was no barrier to Rossi's extradition. An extradition warrant was signed in September 2023 and Rossi was finally sent to the US in January 2024. Investigators say they identified at least a dozen aliases Rossi used over the years to evade capture. He appeared in court this week in a wheelchair, wearing a suit and tie and using an oxygen tank. Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted a picture of an intelligent man who used his charm to take advantage of a vulnerable young woman. She was living with her parents and recovering from a traumatic brain injury when she responded to a personal ad Rossi posted on Craigslist. They began dating and were engaged within about two weeks. On Monday, the woman described being asked to pay for their dates, cover Rossi's car repairs, lend him 1,000 dollars so he wouldn't be evicted from his apartment and take on debt to buy their engagement rings. He grew hostile soon after their engagement and raped her in his bedroom one night after she drove him home, she testified. The woman said dismissive comments from her parents convinced her not to go to the police at the time. She came forward a decade later after she saw him in the news and learned he was accused of another rape from the same year. Rossi's lawyers sought to convince the jury that his accuser built up years of resentment after he made her foot the bill for everything in their month-long relationship. They argued she accused him of rape to get back at him years later, when he was getting media attention. Lawyers for Rossi did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment after the verdict. Rossi's accuser in the Utah County case did, however, go to the police at the time. She gave evidence on Tuesday about her own experiences with Rossi, though he will not stand trial for that rape charge until next month. Rossi is accused of attacking the second woman, another former girlfriend, at his apartment in Orem in September 2008 after she came to collect money she said he stole from her to buy a computer. When police initially interviewed Rossi, he claimed she had raped him and threatened to have him killed. Rossi grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and had returned there before allegedly faking his death. He was previously wanted in the state for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Man accused of faking death to avoid rape charges guilty of sexual assault
A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to evade rape charges was found guilty of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in his first of two Utah trials. A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of a 2008 rape after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents took the stand. Nicholas Rossi was accused of faking his death and fleeing to Europe to avoid rape charges (Firecrest Films/AP) The verdict came hours after Rossi, 38, declined to testify on his own behalf. He will be sentenced in the case on October 20 and is set to stand trial in September for another rape charge in Utah County. First-degree felony rape carries a punishment in Utah of five years to life in prison, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. Mr Gill said: 'We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place. 'We appreciate her patience as we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could take place and she could get justice. 'It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable.' Utah authorities began searching for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, when he was identified through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018. Nicholas Rossi was arrested in Scotland, but claimed he was the victim of mistaken identity. He was extradited to the US in January 2024 (Andrew Milligan/PA) He was among thousands of rape suspects identified and later charged when the state made a push to clear its rape kit backlog. Months after he was charged in Utah County, an online obituary claimed Rossi had died on February 29 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But police in his home state of Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, cast doubt on whether he was dead. He was arrested in Scotland the following year while receiving treatment for Covid-19 after hospital staff in Glasgow recognised his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol notice. Rossi said he was the victim of mistaken identity, claiming to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was being framed. Months of court proceedings in Edinburgh followed but in November 2022, Sheriff Norman McFadyen determined the man claiming to be Knight was indeed Rossi. A hearing took place in June 2023, with Sheriff McFadyen ruling there was no barrier to Rossi's extradition. An extradition warrant was signed in September 2023 and Rossi was finally sent to the US in January 2024. Investigators say they identified at least a dozen aliases Rossi used over the years to evade capture. Throughout trials in Scotland and the US, Rossi appeared in a wheelchair and sometimes with an oxygen mask (Andrew Milligan/PA) He appeared in court this week in a wheelchair, wearing a suit and tie and using an oxygen tank. Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted a picture of an intelligent man who used his charm to take advantage of a vulnerable young woman. She was living with her parents and recovering from a traumatic brain injury when she responded to a personal ad Rossi posted on Craigslist. They began dating and were engaged within about two weeks. On Monday, the woman described being asked to pay for their dates, cover Rossi's car repairs, lend him 1,000 dollars so he wouldn't be evicted from his apartment and take on debt to buy their engagement rings. He grew hostile soon after their engagement and raped her in his bedroom one night after she drove him home, she testified. The woman said dismissive comments from her parents convinced her not to go to the police at the time. She came forward a decade later after she saw him in the news and learned he was accused of another rape from the same year. Rossi's lawyers sought to convince the jury that his accuser built up years of resentment after he made her foot the bill for everything in their month-long relationship. They argued she accused him of rape to get back at him years later, when he was getting media attention. Nicholas Rossi is set to stand trial in September for another rape charge in Utah County (Firecrest Films/AP) Lawyers for Rossi did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment after the verdict. Rossi's accuser in the Utah County case did, however, go to the police at the time. She gave evidence on Tuesday about her own experiences with Rossi, though he will not stand trial for that rape charge until next month. Rossi is accused of attacking the second woman, another former girlfriend, at his apartment in Orem in September 2008 after she came to collect money she said he stole from her to buy a computer. When police initially interviewed Rossi, he claimed she had raped him and threatened to have him killed. Rossi grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and had returned there before allegedly faking his death. He was previously wanted in the state for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
'I am no hero', says man who jumped into River Lee to save drowning woman
A father of four who jumped into Cork's River Lee to save a woman after she fell in has insisted he is 'not a hero' and only did "what any human being would do". Mohammed Khathiri, originally from Morocco, happened to be looking out his bedroom window when he spotted a woman sitting by the wall at George's Quay at about 1pm last week. The 44-year-old said as he was watching, he saw the woman 'disappear' — and quickly realised she had fallen into the river. 'I did not even think, I ran down all the way from the top floor of the building I live in, to the river,' Mr Khathiri told the Irish Examiner. 'It took me between 20-30 seconds before I jumped into the river to help the woman. 'She was struggling to hold onto the barriers. It was very deep and cold, and I swam over to her before grabbing her under her shoulders and holding onto her,' he said. Mr Khathiri said it was at that moment, after he got hold of the drowning woman, that he knew they were in 'safety'. George's Quay, where the woman entered the water. Picture Chani Anderson. He said he then swam some 4m to 5m before a passerby threw a lifebuoy to them. By that stage, emergency services had been alerted and were also at the scene. Mr Khathiri, who works night shifts as a cleaner, described himself as a good enough swimmer, who began swimming as a child in the river near his home in Morocco. 'My mother would always scold me for swimming in the river,' he said. 'But I am no hero,' Mr Khathiri said of his dramatic rescue. It's just important to save humanity, to be human, and the only way I was able to do it was to run down and get her to safety. 'There is a difference between a few minutes and a few seconds, and every second counts,' he said. 'I thank everyone who has called me a hero, but I only did what anyone should do, what any human being would do,' he added. Second officer for Cork City Fire Brigade Victor Shine said units attended the scene of the incident and helped the woman from the river before she was taken to hospital via ambulance. Mr Khathiri arrived in Cork City two years ago and started learning English. He says he now has a great number of Irish and non-Irish friends. He said the people in Cork have been lovely and he is enjoying his time here.
