a day ago
Dublin firefighter accused of US rape takes to the stand in trial
Irish firefighter Terence Crosbie took the stand today at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston today, and described the panic he felt after being accused of raping a woman in the Omni Parker Hotel in the early hours of March said he awoke the following morning to a call from Liam O'Brien, with whom he was sharing a room. O'Brien said detectives were in the lobby downstairs looking to speak with voluntarily spoke with detectives, asking, 'What happens next? What do I do now?' at the end of the conversation. Crosbie said detectives told him he was free to do whatever he pleased and that he was 'free to leave.'Crosbie noted that shortly after, he began to feel "frightened." He said he felt unsupported by his fellow firefighters who were in the nearby Dubliner pub, 'watching the Irish rugby game and drinking,' while he was 'sitting in the hotel room alone.'Crosbie said his nerves were further elevated after he returned to his hotel room and found that the door had been left open, with no explanation as to who had been in his room.
Crosbie said that he 'hit the panic button,' adding, 'I said 'I'm not staying here, I'm out of here.'' Shortly after, Crosbie booked a 10:10 pm Aer Lingus flight that was set to depart for Dublin that night. After arriving at Logan Airport, Crosbie said that there was an earlier flight to Dublin at 6:30 pm that evening, which had not been advertised online. He asked to be switched to the earlier flight.
This morning, the court watched body camera footage taken by Massachusetts state police Sergeant Michael Fiore, that showed Crosbie being escorted off the Aer Lingus footage showed officers approaching Crosbie in his seat toward the back of the aircraft, him collecting his things from the overhead bin, and him being taken into custody.
More to follow.
