Terence Crosbie, a firefighter from Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the rape of a woman at a hotel in Boston over St. Patrick's Day weekend.
Crosbie, 37, was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday, June 5 after being indicted by a grand jury on May 16.
In April, he pleaded not guilty to the charge in Boston Municipal Court.
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced on March 18 that Crosbie, an Irish citizen, had been charged with raping a woman on Friday, March 15 at the Omni Parker House, a hotel in Boston.
Announcing the charges in March, Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy said that on the morning of March 15, Boston police interviewed a 28-year-old woman at Massachusetts General Hospital who told them she had been sexually assaulted at the Omni Parker House earlier that morning.
Detectives secured video surveillance from the hotel and from The Black Rose, a bar and restaurant in Boston, where both Crosbie and the victim were on the evening of Thursday, March 14.
Police learned that Crosbie had flown to Boston from Ireland earlier Thursday with other members of the Brigade and that he was scheduled to leave on Tuesday.
After being interviewed by police on Saturday, Crosbie booked a flight for 10:10 pm that night, days before his scheduled departure date. At the airport, Crosbie boarded an even earlier flight, departing at around 7 pm.
State police stopped the plane on the Logan tarmac and removed Crosbie.
In a statement after the charges were announced, Dublin Fire Brigade said Crosbie had immediately been placed on leave and was conducting its own internal investigation.
The Boston Globe reports how in court on Wednesday, further details emerged about the alleged rape.
Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy said that on Thursday, March 14, the 28-year-old accuser went to dinner with co-workers and met a colleague of Crosbie's who was in Boston with other members of the Dublin Fire Brigade to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Video shows that around 11:30 pm, the woman left a restaurant with Crosbie’s colleague and returned to the hotel room, where she fell asleep in a separate bed, Murphy said.
Crosbie was sharing a room at the Omni with another member of the Dublin Fire Brigade, Murphy told the court.
Crosbie left the hotel at 11:55 pm, according to hotel security video, and swiped his key card back into the room at 1:55 am, Murphy said.
“The victim was asleep when the defendant entered the room,” Murphy said.
“She was unaware that he was even there until she woke up to him actively raping her.”
Murphy said that the victim "demanded that he stop and asked him what he’s doing.
“The defendant continued and did not stop. He made remarks to the effect of, he knew that she wanted this and his friend was pathetic for falling asleep.”
When the woman got up and tried to leave, Crosbie followed her around the room, trying to touch her and telling her “she wanted this,” Murphy said.
The woman left at 2:15 am, 20 minutes after Crosbie entered the room, Murphy said.
The victim messaged a friend to say she had been assaulted and went to the hospital where she spoke with police.
When interviewed by police the next day, Crosbie admitted to entering the room but denied having any interaction with the woman and claimed that he had been in the room for only a few minutes before the woman left.
In court on Wednesday, Crosbie's attorney Daniel Reilly said that when Crosbie boarded the flight on March 16, police had told him he was a “free man” and had not issued an arrest warrant.
“In a foreign country, you don’t know the laws here, you don’t have access to counsel, when someone comes up and accuses you of something, but doesn’t give you any further guidance …” Reilly said, according to The Boston Globe.
“He was scared and wanted to go home. He wasn’t running away from anything.”
Crosbie reportedly has a wife and two children in Dublin.
Crosbie continues to be held on $100,000. His bail conditions stipulate that he has no contact with his accuser, that he cannot leave Massachusetts, and that his passport remain surrendered.
He is due to return before the court on August 5.
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