Carlisle rapist denies sex crimes against two new alleged victims

Despite his conviction at Carlisle Crown Court, 48-year-old Barrie O’Keefe continues to deny raping the teenager during a night-time fishing trip. He is now on trial accused of sexually assaulting two other alleged victims.

These allegations also date back to the same time 18 years ago.

O’Keefe denies raping a young man after giving him alcohol and drugs. He also denies sexually assaulting and engaging in sexual activity with another 15-year-old boy, who was also allegedly given alcohol and drugs.

He also knew the teenager through his hobby, fishing, the court learned.

Opening the case at the city’s Crown Court, prosecutor Peter Wilson said the elderly complainant was 20 at the time of the alleged rape in 2006. The man rented a room in Carlisle in the property where O’Keefe lived.

“He smoked with the defendant, drank with him and generally described her as someone who uses crack cocaine together,” Wilson said.

On the day England played Portugal in the World Cup, O’Keefe and the alleged victim were at a friend’s house watching football and spent six hours together, drinking and smoking.

The young man went back to his accommodation, went to his room and then to bed. “The defendant sneaked into his room and raped him,” said Mr Wilson.

The man woke up when the defendant got into his bed.

Mr Wilson said: “He felt he could not defend himself because of the alcohol and drugs.” When later asked how he knew the event had taken place that day, the man told police: “I don’t think I could forget it even if I tried.”

Mr Wilson continued: “He felt he couldn’t name anyone. He couldn’t tell the police. But when he saw the defendant recently it all came flooding back. He had to tell the police now because it was holding him back.

“It ruined his life.”

Mr Wilson said the young man was not the only person O’Keefe had “taken advantage of”. The prosecutor told the jury that the defendant had “been befriending” a 15-year-old boy around the same time.

At that time, O’Keefe was 30 years old.

“They would cycle to the River Caldew in Carlisle and go fishing together,” the prosecutor said. “This happened a few times and they became friends…

“One time they were fishing on the River Caldew at night. They were drinking cans of Fosters and like (the older alleged victim) he had poppers and cannabis and they took both together.”

The teenager felt dizzy.

He woke up, Mr Wilson said, and found the defendant touching him.

The boy elbowed O’Keefe and told him to get out. When police spoke to the now-adult man again in 2022, he said he was unable to describe what happened at the time because he was scared.

“He didn’t have the heart to say what had happened,” Wilson said. He recalled asking O’Keefe to stop what he was doing, but the defendant refused.

Mr Wilson added: “This evidence, we say, shows that the defendant is sexually attracted to younger boys; that he gives in to that attraction and takes advantage of the fact that he is older and stronger, coupled with alcohol and drugs, to rape them.”

O’Keefe says the alleged crimes never happened and suggests the two men “jumped on a bandwagon” because O’Keefe was convicted of raping another 15-year-old boy in 2006.

The process continues.