Two men have been convicted of raping a woman after she blacked out at a partyTwo

After an 11-day trial at the Central Criminal Court, the jury spent just over six hours in deliberations.

On Monday, the jury foreman told Justice Eileen Creedon that it was “deadlocked” and she told jurors they could return a verdict on which 10 or more of them agreed.

The prosecution case was that the complainant was drinking at the party with the men and other friends and did not remember ending up in a bed. She said she came to on two occasions to find the defendants raping her.

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Both accused said they separately had sex with the woman but maintained she was aware at the time and consented.

They had pleaded not guilty to rape in a flat in a town in Co Leitrim on a date in 2017. The second accused also denied a charge of oral rape of the woman. The defendants and the complainant are now aged in their 20s and knew one another from school.

The jury found the first man guilty of rape and the second man guilty of oral rape by a majority verdict. It failed to reach agreement on the count of rape against the second man.

As the verdicts were delivered, both men hung their heads. The second man began sobbing and there was crying from some of their family members who were present in court.

Lawyers for the men asked Justice Creedon to consider allowing them to remain on bail in light of their young age, with Conor Devally SC submitting that they were not a flight risk.

The judge remanded them in custody for a sentence hearing on January 17 next.

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