Omagh man accused of ‘vicious’ sex assault refused bail

AN Omagh man accused of subjecting a woman to what was described in court as a “vicious” sexual assault that lasted for more than two hours has been refused bail.

Christopher Rice (38), of Lammy Drive, faces charges of rape, sexual penetration without the consent of the alleged injured party, attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle to make her unconscious with intent to comment an assault or rape and with making threats to kill.

He is also charged with administering a substance to the alleged injured party with the intention of enabling him to overpower her and then engage in sexual activity, and with unlawful imprisonment.

The offences are alleged to have taken place in Rice’s house in the early hours of this Easter Monday.

A detective constable attached to the PSNI’s rape crime unit told the court that the following morning, police received a call from the father of the woman reporting that she was in the South West Acute Hospital.

The court was told that she had suffered multiple physical injuries, including two black eyes, bruising on the face and body, three broken ribs and a punctured lung.

He added that, on the night in question, the woman was at the home of the defendant. Both of them had been in a relationship together, but were having problems which they were attempting to sort out.

The detective constable said that the alleged attack had taken place from the early hours of that morning until daybreak.

He said that the incident was recorded for around two-and-a-half hours by the woman on her mobile phone.

The court was told that Rice had told the woman to “take off her clothes”. When she refused he was said to have slapped and punched her, and then pulled down her trousers.

He then told her to lie down, but she refused. He also turned on the hob of the cooker and attempted to lift her up onto it.

Rice is also alleged to have then pulled off the woman’s sports bra and punched her three times in the ribs.

He then brought her upstairs to one of the bedrooms where he tried to have sex with her.

He then tied a t-shirt around her neck in an attempt to strangle her.

The court was further told that the woman waited until he fell asleep before going out of the bedroom and phoning her home.

At one point during the morning, Rice is also alleged to have given her five tablets for the pain and was continually hitting her.

The police said that she believed he was recording via video what was happening.

The court heard that she recorded the assault because she was afraid to call 999 as he would hear the voices at the other end.

RETRIEVED

A voice recording lasting two hours and 20 minutes was retrieved by police.

During it, the detective constable said the sounds were that of a vicious assault. There were more than 100 sounds of strikes, punches and slaps.

The woman could be heard screaming and begging for the man to stop.

Details of some of the remarks which Rice allegedly made to her were also read out in court.

According to the officer, he is also heard saying “I will kill you”, “There is no way out of it” and “You move and you’re dead”.

When questioned by police, Rice denied the offence. He said that, on the night in question, they had friends around and that the alleged injured party had become involved in a fight with one of them. He claimed that the injuries were due to ‘rough sex’.

Applying for bail, defence solicitor, Conor Sally, said that Rice was entitled to the presumption of innocence. He said it was likely to be “months or even years” before the case was dealt with.

Mr Sally added that Rice had been arrested for the offences and granted bail earlier in April, that he was not a flight risk and that bail conditions would ensure that he did not inadvertently or otherwise come into contact with the woman.

He said it was a situation where the police now believed that they had a stronger case due to the emergence of the sound recording, adding that, although it was a serious matter, there were issues including forensics still outstanding.

However, deputy district judge, Sean O’Hare, refused bail and Rice was remanded in custody to appear again at Omagh Magistrates Court on May 23 via videolink.