Boston, MA: Court update on Terrence Crosbie rape case – NBC Boston

A firefighter from Ireland accused of raping a woman in Boston over St. Patrick’s Day weekend appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Terrence Crosbie of Dublin was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport in March as he attempted to fly back to Ireland. He was indicted by a grand jury on rape charges in May.

According to the indictment, Crosbie was with members of the Dublin Fire Department at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston.

A 28-year-old woman told Boston police she was attacked at the famed Omni Parker House hotel after meeting Crosbie and one of his colleagues at dinner on Thursday, May 14, Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy said in court Wednesday.

The woman told investigators she returned to the hotel with a man who was staying in the same room as Crosbie. She said they both fell asleep in separate beds in the room. Crosbie was not there at the time, prosecutors said, but returned to the room several hours later in the early hours of Friday morning. According to hotel key records, he entered the room at about 1:55 a.m.

“Because the victim was asleep when he returned, she was unaware of his presence until she woke up and saw him actively raping her,” Murphy said. “She told him to stop and asked what he was doing and the defendant continued. He did not stop and made comments to the effect that he knew she wanted this, that it was pathetic, that his girlfriend was asleep and could not do it, and that he would do it for her.”

According to hotel records, the woman packed her things and left the room at around 2:15 a.m. She immediately texted a friend saying she had been sexually assaulted and then went to the hospital.

The prosecution said that when Crosbie learned of the police investigation, he tried to return to Ireland. He changed his return flight and tried to take an even earlier flight at Logan Airport. He was taken off the plane and arrested.

When questioned by police, Crosbie admitted that he returned to the room during the period in question and that a woman was there when he arrived, but denied having had contact with her. He denied the rape allegations and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Crosbie’s defense argued that his client was not trying to flee the country, but was unsure of what to do if he got into legal trouble in a foreign country on a holiday weekend and tried to return home to get help.

The defense pushed for $5,000 bail, citing concerns about Crosbie’s financial resources abroad. The Commonwealth asked for $100,000 bail, citing the nature of the charges and Crosbie’s connection to Ireland, with his attempts to get a flight raising concerns. The prosecution also noted that because of the manner in which Crosbie was removed from a service flight at the last minute, he is now considered an illegal entrant and that he could face detention by ICE if released.

The judge set Crosbie’s bail at $100,000 cash, with conditions that the defendant stay away from and have no direct or indirect contact with the alleged victim, not leave Massachusetts, surrender his passport before his release, and not apply for a new one.