Terence Crosbie, an Irish firefighter, has been convicted of committing rape at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.
The 39-year-old was accused of raping a 29-year-old woman during the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in March 2024. Following over 15 hours of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict, and he is scheduled for sentencing on October 30.
When the verdict was announced, Crosbie’s family and friends, situated in the front row of the courtroom, broke down in tears and shielded their faces with their hands after the conclusion of the five-day trial at Suffolk Superior Court, as per a report by the Irish Star.
Crosbie was apprehended from an Aer Lingus flight shortly after being interrogated by detectives from the Boston Police Department. It was revealed in court that Crosbie had reserved a flight to Dublin at 10:10 pm on March 16, 2024, subsequent to his police questioning.
Upon arrival at Logan Airport, Crosbie discovered an unlisted earlier flight to Dublin at 6:30 pm on the same day and opted for the earlier departure. The court was presented with body camera footage recorded by a Massachusetts State Police Sergeant showing Crosbie being escorted off the Aer Lingus flight.
Crosbie had been in Boston with a group of Dublin firefighters for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The victim recounted meeting Crosbie’s hotel roommate, Liam O’Brien, at the Black Rose pub on the night of the incident.
She narrated that they conversed, danced, and even shared a kiss. Subsequently, they left the pub together and returned to the Omni Parker House hotel in Boston. The woman testified that upon their return to the hotel room, they were alone, engaged in sexual activity, after which she went to the bathroom.
She remembered O’Brien falling asleep. She recalled dozing off on a separate bed from O’Brien and waking up to another man, “also with an Irish accent,” assaulting her. She was certain that the man assaulting her was not O’Brien, with whom she had a prior sexual encounter, affirming, “I knew it wasn’t Liam because he was still asleep.”
After leaving the Omni Parker House hotel, the alleged victim messaged her friend and coworker, who had been with her for most of the day and evening at a work event and later at the Black Rose pub.
In the early hours, she texted, “I hate everyone,” promptly followed by another message questioning people’s behavior. A third disturbing message read, “I woke up and a guy was inside of me telling me how much he knew I wanted it and how pathetic it was his friend couldn’t give that.”
The victim reported the incident to Massachusetts General Hospital, alleging she had been raped.
Crosbie vehemently refuted all accusations, claiming he did not rape the woman. During his court testimony, he acknowledged briefly encountering the complainant and not knowing her name.
He stated that he was in the hotel room when O’Brien and the woman returned, but he promptly departed. Surveillance footage from the pub, street, and hotel on the relevant night was presented in court.
Hotel CCTV footage depicted Crosbie sitting near the sixth-floor lifts for nearly two hours. He mentioned returning to the room after this, assuming O’Brien and the woman had concluded their interaction.
“I opened the door and called out, didn’t enter the room immediately,” Crosbie testified. “There was no response, the room was dark… I used my phone’s flashlight to navigate to my bed… Shined the light on the floor to guide me to my bed.”
Crosbie testified that he was in bed for a short period before hearing movement from the other bed, which he now believes was the alleged victim. When questioned by the prosecution during cross-examination if he saw the woman leaving, he responded, “I didn’t try. It was too dark to see.”
Throughout the trial, multiple DNA experts stated that none of the samples collected from the victim contained identifiable traces of Crosbie’s DNA. Alexis Decesaris, a senior DNA analyst at Bodie Technology, testified that while two male contributors were identified in the DNA, there was no confirmation that Crosbie was one of them.
The jury comprised six men and six women who found