Man alleged to have attacked woman in Dublin refused bail

A 48-year-old man who is alleged to be one of eight males who attacked a woman who was allegedly held against her will in an apartment in Dublin has been refused bail.

Emmet Black, with an address at The Maltings in Dublin, has been charged with assault and false imprisonment of the woman four days ago.

The Dublin District Court was told the woman was found by gardaí in the apartment "in a bloodied, tortured and beaten state" and is still being treated in hospital.

Judge Alan Mitchell remanded Emmet Black in custody to appear in court again next Friday.

Six other men also charged in connection with the attack remain in custody, while a 16-year-old boy was granted bail at the Children's Court today.

Mr Black was brought by gardaí to the Dublin District Court in connection with a violent attack on a woman at an apartment in Dublin city centre last Thursday, during which she was allegedly held against her will.

The 48-year-old is accused of assault and false imprisonment four days ago.

Garda Ciaran Rogers from the Bridewell Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution.

He told the court that he arrested Mr Black last Saturday afternoon and when he was charged he made no reply.

He told the court he was objecting to bail on a number of grounds, including the seriousness of the charges,

Gda Rogers told the court the 37-year-old victim of the assault claims she had been brought to the flat at Henrietta House by five males in car.

He said it was alleged she was then subjected to "a sustained and violent assault" by eight males for around one and a half hours, during which she was beaten on the head and body with a hatchet and iron bars, attacked with a blade, hammers and a makeshift blow torch - an aerosol can and a lighter.

He said it was further alleged that the victim’s hair was cut, that heated hammer heads were held to her bare skin and that she and her daughter were threatened.

Gda Rogers said the victim suffered a fractured elbow, a fractured right cheek bone, a head laceration, burns to both her legs and was still being treated in the Mater Hospital.

He also told the court that all the implements allegedly used in the attack were recovered.

Regarding the allegation that Mr Black was involved in collecting the victim, his solicitor said he was under duress.

Defence Solicitor Eoin Lysaght submitted that Mr Black had been "put under pressure" and this was evident when he said to the woman "come on, we have to go".

He said his client had been threatened and that those threats had been carried out as he had sustained an 18 inch laceration to his head.

He said Mr Black had to attend hospital on Friday morning for injuries he received and had been operated on under anaesthetic to have the cut on his head closed.

Judge Alan Mitchell said that while Mr Black retained the presumption of innocence, he was refusing his application for bail.

He remanded the 48-year-old in custody to appear again at Cloverhill District Court on Friday.

Seven others - six men and a 16-year-old boy - have already been charged in connection with the incident.

Twenty-year-old Sean Conroy from Silloge Road in Ballymun, Dublin; Braxton Rice, also aged 20, of Henrietta House in Dublin 1; Kian Walsh, aged 21 from Constitution Hill in Dublin 7; 54-year-old Mark McMahon and 33-year-old Mark Keogh, both from Henrietta House in Dublin 1; and 20-year-old Jayven Talbot from Constitution Hill in Dublin 7 were also charged with assault causing harm and false imprisonment and remanded in custody over the weekend.

The 16-year-old boy was granted bail at the Children's Court this afternoon.