Northern Ireland

Derry man tells court he '110% did not' rape teen on Spanish holiday

A man accused of raping a teenager during a holiday in Spain has told a jury that she twice had consensual sex with him on the night she alleges he raped her.

Michael Cregan (35), from Ferguson Street in Derry, denies raping the then 17-year-old in a bedroom they shared with two other people in the Spanish holiday resort of Torremolinos in 2014.

It is the first case in the north in which a UK citizen has gone on trial for an offence allegedly committed outside the jurisdiction.

Giving evidence at Derry Crown Court, the defendant said he and other members of the holiday party had been drinking for most of the day and evening.

He said he brought the complainant back to the bedroom which they shared and that both of them were drunk. The other members of the group stayed behind drinking in a bar.

He told the jury that on the way back to the hotel the pair kissed and when they went into their bedroom they took off their clothes and engaged in consensual intercourse.

Questioned by his barrister Kieran Mallon QC, the defendant said the 17-year-old neither resisted him nor asked him to stop and that she was both awake and conscious.

He said they stopped when her sister returned to the bedroom which she and her partner also shared.

The accused said he pulled on a pair of shorts while the complainant wore a a bath robe and several minutes later the sister fell asleep.

He said he then turned to the teenager.

"I said are you up for it again. She said aye and we had sex again out on the balcony," he said.

"Nothing she did led me to believe she didn't consent."

Asked by Mr Mallon if he'd raped the complainant, he replied: "No I did not, 110 per cent I did not."

The trial continues.