This week has marked the beginning of the trial of a 36 year old man who was charged with the sexual assault of a woman he met on Tinder.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting the girl in  Dublin on July 23, 2014.

According to Paul Burns SC, the man and woman in question exchanged messages on Tinder, before arranging to meet in Dublin city centre.

From there, Mr. Burns told the jury, the man drove to a park nearby, where the he proceeded to sexually assault her.

 

He told the court that the accused kissed her, and when she declined, he became aggressive. He described how the man  held her by the arm, put his hand up her dress, touching her thighs and interfered with the upper part of her clothing.

According to Mr. Burns, the woman told the accused to stop, and began to struggle. He said the man was then struck on the head by the defendant.

The man then tried to prevent her getting out of the car, but she managed to and he drove off.

Paul Burns concluded that what he described was only a sketch of the event, and not evidence in itself. He told the court that he expected a better outline of the event to be revealed in evidence.

Judge Cormac Quinn told the jury of six men and six women that they must not research the case on the internet or Google and must not talk to anybody outside the jury about the case.

The jury were instructed to report any other members who were seen to be researching the case.

The trial is set to continue tomorrow.

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