Donegal man charged at Derry court with raping and strangling woman
Mason O'Donoghue, 18, of Tooban Lodge, Burnfoot in Donegal was charged with raping a woman on November 27 and also faced a charge of non fatal strangulation on the same date
A man with an address at Burnfoot has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrate's Court charged with rape.
Mason O'Donoghue, 18, of Tooban Lodge, Burnfoot in Donegal was charged with raping a woman on November 27 and also faced a charge of non-fatal strangulation on the same date.
The defendant was also charged with assaulting the same woman occasioning her actual bodily harm on November 30.
A police officer connected the accused to the charges and opposed bail.
He told the court that at 4.55am on November 30 the defendant had presented himself at Waterside PSNI station and said he thought he had broken his partner's nose.
A short time later the alleged victim phoned police and said she had been assaulted and was bleeding from her nose.
Police attended and spoke to the woman who had blood on her that seemed to be coming from her nose.
While police were there the woman said that O'Donoghue had raped and strangled her on November 27.
She claimed he told her: "You will do what I want you to" and "it is your fault I did that".
The woman said that the defendant had told her what he was going to do and said it was not consensual.
She claimed that he had punched her up to 10 times during the assault.
The defendant was arrested and during interview, he claimed any sex was consensual.
He admitted choking the woman but said she had asked him to do that and claimed the assault was in self-defence.
The defendant said they had take cocaine and alcohol and the woman had asked him for "rough sex".
Bail was objected to bail as the defendant had no ties to this jurisdiction and bail could not be managed.
Defence solicitor Jack Quigley said that the woman had invited the defendant to her address on the night of November 27 the night of the alleged rape.
He said the defendant would say he returned to the same address later in the week and had consensual sex with the woman before the alleged assault occurred.
O'Donoghue claimed after the assault he asked the woman to phone the police and said had refused so he had gone himself.
Mr Quigley said the defendant's family ties were in Birmingham or Sligo but as he was "basically in care" in the Republic, staff there could ensure he abided by bail conditions.
Describing the case as "an unique set of circumstances", the solicitor said the case could take some time to come to trial.
District Judge Oonagh Mullan refused bail and remanded O'Donoghue in custody to appear again on December 30.