Man denies raping teenage girls in his flat

Orhan Kibar is on trial accused of inviting two young women back to his Russell Court apartment at Claremont Street in the early hours of November 25, 2017 and raping them.

The 43-year-old denies three counts of rape and one count of false imprisonment followed the alleged incident.

A jury at Belfast Crown Court heard the two complainants – who at the time were aged 18 and 19 – both claim they were sexually assaulted by Kibar.

The jury of seven women and five men also heard that Kibar is a Turkish national who has been living in Northern Ireland for “some time”.

Opening the Crown case, prosecuting barrister Charles MacCreanor QC said the two friends had been at Queen’s Students’ Union on the evening of November 24, and as the bar closed they left premises around 1.30am.

As they stood on the street, they were approached by a “complete stranger” who started talking to them. This stranger, who the Crown say was Kibar, asked the women if they wanted to go to a party.

They walked with him a short distance to his apartment in Russell Court, and when they entered his flat, they realised there was no party.

Mr MacCreanor said the 18-year-old was offered a drink and a smoke, while the other woman fell asleep on the settee.

The 18-year-old then left the living room, and when she was on the toilet, she said Kibar came into the bathroom and grabbed her. She said he was aggressive, there was a struggle and that during the incident, Kibar pulled down his trousers.

The complainant said Kibar then sexually assaulted her, and that during her ordeal he was hurting her and she was screaming. She later told police she bit him and was finally able to flee the bathroom.

Mr MacCreanor said as she was fleeing, she didn’t see her friend sleeping on the settee in the living room, and she also left her coat and phone in the apartment.

The 18-year-old ran on to the street, and by chance bumped into someone she knew. In a “distressed state”, she described what had just happened and the police were called immediately.

Officers arrived at the scene, and were directed to the block of flats by her. As they were trying to locate the right apartment, Mr MacCreanor said “they were met by a young woman in an upset and very distressed state running down the corridor, who was shouting she had been raped”.

Police noted this young woman’s trouser buttons were undone, and she told police which apartment she was running from. When officers knocked and Kibar opened the door, the woman said “That’s him”, and he was arrested.

When this second woman was questioned about what happened, she said that after she and her friend went back to Kibar’s flat after being at the students’ union, she fell asleep within minutes and “completely blacked out”.

Mr MacCreanor told the jury: “The next thing is, she woke up and the defendant was naked on top of her, raping her.”

The prosecutor said the woman told Kibar she needed to go to the toilet, and that after a few minutes he let her go to the bathroom – then when she stepped out of the bathroom, he was standing there naked.

It’s the Crown’s case that Kibar then pushed the 19-year-old back, that she thought he had a weapon like a knife or screwdriver that he was going to stab her with, and that during a struggle he broke one of her fingers.

Kibar is accused of holding her down and raping her a second time, and that after that she was able to flee his flat.

Mr MacCreanor said: “It just so happened police were looking for the flat ... and she told then what had happened to her.”

Both women were subsequently examined and each were found to have abrasions to their private area. Other injuries were noted, including a broken finger sustained by one of the complainants.

Kibar was arrested and charged with four offences – namely raping the 18-year-old and falsely imprisoning her in the bathroom, and also raping the 19-year-old twice. A bite injury was also noted on his left hand.

The case is expected to last for two weeks.

At hearing.