More than €10,000 raised for legal defence of Dublin firefighter accused of rape in Boston
Terence Crosbie (38) is alleged to have raped the woman in a Boston hotel last year after visiting the city with colleagues as part of the St Patrick's Day celebrations.
He pleaded not guilty and went on trial last month, insisting he had no contact whatsoever with the 29-year-old woman.
The trial ended in a hung jury following more than 22 hours of deliberations. The firefighter was remanded in custody pending a retrial.
READ MORE
On Thursday, an online fundraiser was set up by 'family, friends and colleagues' of Mr Crosbie to gather money for his continued legal defence. The intended beneficiary is named as Mr Crosbie's wife.
The fundraiser stated Mr Crosbie was 'facing serious legal proceedings in the United States, a foreign country where the legal system is unfamiliar and the costs are staggering', but it did not mention the nature of the charges.
'Terry's loved ones have poured everything they have into supporting him, but the continuing legal costs – attorney's fees, expert witnesses, trial preparation – are simply too great,' the fundraiser stated, alongside a photograph of Mr Crosbie by the Twin Towers memorial in New York.
'Without immediate support, Terry may lose the very legal team that knows his case best and has worked tirelessly to defend him. That would not only delay his case further, prolonging his unjust confinement, but would risk the fairness of the proceedings altogether.'
It also stated he 'is a devoted husband, a loving father, and a kind and loyal friend' and that his wife and daughters 'are counting down the days until they can hold him again'.
The fundraiser is seeking to raise $45,000 (€38,500). In just over a day, there have been $12,138 in donations, the equivalent of about €10,500, from 64 people.
Mr Crosbie has been detained in Nashua Street Jail in Boston since his arrest last year. Following his most recent trial, the judge increased his bail from $10,000 to $50,000, declaring him a flight risk.
That trial heard Mr Crosbie was one of more than 10 members of Dublin Fire Brigade who flew into Boston on March 14th last year to take part in the St Patrick's Day parade.
The woman alleged that later that night she met one of Mr Crosbie's colleagues at The Black Rose bar, returned with him to the Omni Parker House hotel, had consensual sex and fell asleep in separate beds.
She alleged she awoke to a man she did not know raping her.
Prosecutors said the complainant's testimony that she 'woke up' with a man raping her was supported by CCTV footage of Mr Crosbie entering the hotel room at the time in question and then the complainant leaving 20 minutes later.
Mr Crosbie denied any assault, insisting through his attorneys, police interviews and his own testimony that he 'didn't touch' the woman.
'There was nobody in my bed – my bed was empty,' Mr Crosbie told the court. 'I had no physical or sexual contact with her at all.'
His defence team called into question DNA evidence collected from the woman. Analysts found two male profiles, but could not conclusively identify Mr Crosbie as the second male contributor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Halt in decline of Garda resignations sparks concern
A decline in the number of resignations from An Garda Síochána recorded last year has halted, dashing hopes that the high level of early departures from the force was part of a short-term trend during the Covid pandemic years. For decades, the number of gardaí leaving the force before being eligible to retire on full pensions was low. However, it jumped from 69 in 2020 to 171 in 2023, a near-250 per cent increase. Last year, resignations declined by about 20 per cent, to 138, though that decline has not continued in the first six months of this year, when there were 68 resignations. If that pace continued for the remainder of the year, the total would be the same as last year's. Shortages of personnel continue to hamper police work across the State, from responding to emergencies to investigating crimes. READ MORE However, the Garda has insisted the level of resignations is much lower than in other sectors and far below that in other police forces. 'Despite the extensive commentary and public narrative on a crisis on resignations in An Garda Síochána, the resignation rate remains at approximately 1 per cent,' Garda Headquarters said in reply to queries. It said this is far below the rate in other police services, citing a figure of up to 10 per cent in the UK, and the private sector, where it said the rate was 10 to 20 per cent. The force said some of those who had left were subject to internal discipline and opted to resign from the organisation rather than be dismissed. Twelve gardaí who had previously resigned were reattested in recent months and applications from others seeking to rejoin are under consideration. [ Garda resignations surge to record high in 2023 Opens in new window ] The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said the Government is already set to miss its recruitment targets less than a year into office. The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said the next Garda commissioner, due to be appointed on Tuesday, must address 'high levels' of resignations. Recruitment has begun to increase the strength of the Garda over the past 12 months, to 14,300 at present. However, that remains below the target of 15,000 minimum, with the long-term aim of growing to 18,000. The number of resignations is a concern because recruitment to the force has been sluggish since the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, reopened after being forced to close during the pandemic. Though there is capacity at the college to take in four 200-strong classes of recruits per year, classes have been smaller, with 630 recruits starting training last year. [ Garda numbers set for significant decline, sergeants and inspectors warn Opens in new window ] Some of those offered places have moved on to take other jobs, or have emigrated, by the time their applications to join the Garda have been approved and their start date for Templemore is set. Garda Headquarters has vowed to streamline that process; other ideas to bolster recruitment include satellite garda training centres, home study, and directly hiring specialists with the required skills. The trainee allowance is now €354 per week, almost double the rate in 2023. The maximum age for new recruits has increased from 35 to 50.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
New Garda commissioner faces challenge of expanding force as retirements set to rise
Hopes that a surge in departures from An Garda Síochána during the Covid-19 pandemic was part of the 'great resignation' from the workforce appear to have been optimistic. Resignations surged by almost 250 per cent in the four years to 2023 – to 171 – before declining by 20 per cent last year, raising hopes the worrying trend was dissipating. But the latest figures show there were 68 resignations in the first half of this year. That means the pace this year is keeping up with that of last year, when 138 Garda members resigned – opting out before being eligible to retire on a full pension. When the new Garda commissioner is appointed on Tuesday, to succeed Garda Commissioner Drew Harris after seven years in the job, he or she will have another major headache. READ MORE Between 30 and 40 years ago, a recruitment drive was undertaken by the Garda because of the security challenges posed by the Troubles. This generation is now coming to retirement age. It means we are set for a decade-long increase in Garda retirements at the precise time recruitment is sluggish and resignations appear stuck at about 140 per year. It will all impact on Garda numbers and make it harder to provide a quality policing service, from responding to 999 calls to investigating crimes and catching the perpetrators. And yet the Government is continuing to make promises of hiring 1,000 new gardaí per year, increasing the force's strength to 15,000 members and then continuing to expand until it reaches 18,000. [ Garda numbers begin to grow, though 15,000-strong target will take four more years Opens in new window ] The requirement for a 15,000-strong Garda force was first mooted in a submission to Government by then Garda commissioner Noel Conroy 20 years ago, citing population growth and other factors. When Conroy called for 15,000 gardaí, the Republic's population was 4.13 million. It had increased to 5.5 million by April 2023, according to the most recent estimate available from the Central Statistics Office. The force was growing in early 2020, and would likely be at 15,000 by now, or close to it, before the pandemic struck and the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, was forced to close. But since it reopened, with the economy booming, hiring gardaí has proven more difficult. However, Garda Headquarters said numbers in the force have been rising for some time and had reached 14,318. The resignation rate was 'approximately 1 per cent' per year. This compared with up to 10 per cent in some British police forces and 10 to 20 per cent in the private sector. The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents more than 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí, said the drop in resignations last year appears to have been a 'false dawn'. 'Coupled with the fact that almost 1,900 gardaí are eligible to take up retirement over the next three years, it appears that the target of a Garda strength of 15,000-plus is now just a pipe dream,' said GRA general secretary Ronan Slevin. He believed incentives were needed to retain more gardaí, which would also make the force more attractive to potential recruits. It was 'imperative' the new commissioner addressed the issue. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), said in light of population growth, it was clear an 18,000-strong force was needed; a target Harris suggested in the early years of his commissionership. AGSI general secretary Ronan Clogher said gardaí were required to take on a higher workload, which had become acute and was having a 'corrosive' impact. He was 'worried' as resignations were no longer largely confined to young rank-and-file members of the force, with sergeants and inspectors now also leaving to take up other jobs. [ Garda numbers crisis: 'We could lose 30% to 50% of our organisation in five years' Opens in new window ]
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Wife and ex-partner of ‘controlling and dangerous man' secure protection orders
A man's wife and his ex-partner have been granted protection orders against him within days of each other. The ex-partner, who broke up with him more than three years ago, told the emergency domestic violence court at Dolphin House, Dublin on Friday that the man knows his wife recently contacted her and he had said he was going to ruin their lives. He has contacted his ex-partner via social media and she said she feels unsafe. She made a statement to gardaí after learning that during their relationship, he had recorded a video on his phone of him laughing after her then two-year-old child was hurt when he braked hard in his car after deliberately not putting on the child's seat belt. The man has retained private images of the woman on his phone and a letter from her to her daughter, who is not his child, she said. READ MORE 'It's like an obsession,' the woman told the court. The ex-partner said she had 'healed' after her relatively short relationship with the man, is in another relationship for some time, recently had a baby and wanted nothing to do with him. The man's wife, who obtained a protection order against him days earlier, returned to the court on Friday to support her husband's ex-partner in her application. Judge Shalom Binchy said that while it was 'unusual', she would hear evidence from the wife in the context of the man's ex-partner's application. The wife came into court and said her husband is a 'narcissist' and a 'very controlling and dangerous man'. 'He said he is going to ruin my life and hers [the ex-partner's],' she said. The man had leaked private images of his wife on to social media and she believed he would do the same concerning the other woman. The man had shown his wife the video of his ex-partner's daughter in his car after he deliberately did not put on the child's seat belt, she said. The wife said he referred to the child in a 'very nasty' way and had shown her another video of the child falling off a slide. After her evidence, the wife left court and the judge told his ex-partner she would grant a protection order. In another case, a mother was granted a barring order against her mentally ill son. Aged in his 30s, he was diagnosed with a serious mental illness nine years ago but has no insight and is not compliant with medication or outpatient appointments, she said. He was admitted as an involuntary patient under the Mental Health Acts four times in the past 20 months. Her son is very angry and a recluse with no friends, and his behaviour is getting more difficult and erratic, she said. The woman said he had come into her home with a crowbar and a look in his eyes that 'terrified' her. She always keeps her car keys on her body and fled the house and drove away. On another occasion, he locked her and a friend out of the house overnight by using a rope. He was discharged from a mental health unit a few days ago with no money and no clothes and she does not know where he is, the distressed woman said. He was discharged despite a Garda detective contacting the unit, saying her son is very vulnerable and in potential danger of being 'radicalised'. She keeps hoping someone in a hospital 'will acknowledge he needs long-term support and help'. Granting a 12-month barring order, the judge said: 'It sounds like he has been very much let down by the mental health services, and neither of you should have been left in this situation and have to come to court.' When the woman asked could the court do anything about the mental health issues raised, the judge said she had no power to do so.
