2 days ago
Dublin firefighter accused of US rape not a 'DNA contributor' to victim
Terence Crosbie was not a 'potential contributor' to DNA found on the alleged victim of a sexual assault in March 2024, a US court has been told.
The 39-year-old from Dublin, is charged with raping a woman at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston on March 15, 2024. He was visiting the city with a group of other firefighters, set to march in the South Boston Parade.
Today, on the fourth day of the trial, the court heard witness testimony from Recebba Boissaye, a DNA analyst at the Boston Police Department crime lab. Boissaye said that the DNA samples obtained from Terrence Crosbie, the alleged victim, and Liam O'Brien, were initially tested in March 2024.
She developed a DNA profile in October 2024 from 3 samples submitted - A pair of men's underwear, a saliva sample from the alleged victim, and an oral swab from Crosbie.
Boissaye explained to the court that DNA profiling involves determining 'potential contributors' instead of matches. She testified that Terrence Crosbie was identified as a potential contributor for the DNA sample obtained from one sample - a pair of men's underwear from the brand Primark.
However, Boissaye also testified that Crosbie was not identified as a potential contributor in the genital swab or the breast swab obtained from the alleged victim. Additionally, the alleged victim was excluded as the source of DNA on the pair of men's underwear.
DNA analyst from Bode technology, Alexis Decesaris, also testified. She told the court that the Boston Police Department crime lab sent DNA extracts from a genital swab obtained from the alleged victim, along with reference samples from Crosbie and Liam O'Brien for comparison.
After further testing, Decesaris testified that they were not able to identify either Crosbie or O'Brien as male contributors, due to the quality and/or quantity of the DNA sample. Decesaris said they could not attribute the DNA to any individual.
