A second trial has gotten underway for the Irish firefighter charged with raping a woman at a Boston hotel while visiting the city in 2024 to march in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade.
Opening statements were heard in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday for Terence Crosbie’s new trial. A mistrial was declared during his first trial earlier this year, The Boston Globe reported.
Crosbie, of the Dublin Fire Brigade, is accused of raping a woman at the Omni Parker House hotel after a night of drinking at the Black Rose bar in March of 2024.
Terrence Crosbie of the Dublin Fire Brigade allegedly assaulted a 28-year-old woman back in March at the famed Omni Parker House hotel after meeting her at the Black Rose bar
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Prosecutors said that the alleged victim returned to the hotel with another Irish firefighter she met at the Black Rose, and had consensual sex with him in his hotel room, which they said he shared with Crosbie. The woman went into the other bed in the middle of the night, prosecutors said, because the man she was with was sprawled out and snoring loudly.
The Commonwealth alleges that the woman woke up and realized another man was on leading of her and raping her.
“The defendant, the firefighter, the person who is supposed to protect people from harm, he became the danger,” Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Daniela Mendes said during Thursday’s opening statements. “When he entered that hotel room, he saw that [victim] was asleep. And that she was vulnerable and defenseless in the bed that was supposed to be his.”
“In that hotel room, opportunity met intent, and in that moment, [victim] became his target,” Mendes continued.
Prosecutors said that the alleged victim was able to leave the hotel and then went to the Mass. General emergency room, where she underwent DNA swab testing and spoke with Boston police detectives. DNA testing allegedly revealed the genetic material of two male profiles, however the testing was insufficient to tie to an any individual.
They said that police questioned Crosbie, who rebooked his flight to leave Boston sooner than planned. He was arrested at Logan Airport, after Boston police had the plane he had boarded bound turned around while taxing to takeoff.
Crosbie’s defense team pushed back on the prosecutors’ claims during their opening statements — telling jurors that their client denies the allegations and maintains that he is innocent.
Prosecutors identified Crosbie as a member of the Dublin Fire Brigade, explaining that he flew in with fellow members Thursday.
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The defense attorney said the Commonwealth doesn’t have enough evidence to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“This case is going to involve a lot of suspicion and maybes and what ifs,” Crosbie’s attorney said. “It’s going to involve a lot of emotion. But we don’t convict people on suspicion. We don’t convict people on maybes. We don’t convict people on what ifs. We don’t convict people on emotion.”
His team pointed to the alleged victim’s alcohol consumption that day, as well as the DNA testing’s inability to identify a specific match.
“When someone makes this kind of accusation, what they say, how they say it, how often it changes and what’s missing that matters,” the attorney said. “Memory matters.”
The trial continued with the Commonwealth’s first witness testifying at the stand.
The trial is expected to last between four and five days.
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