A CARLISLE man told police officers that he was “plied with” alcohol and cannabis by an older man who then "sneaked" into his room at night and raped him.

Giving his video-taped account of the alleged rape 18 years ago, the man said that at the time he was a “skinny” 20-year-old.

Barrie O’Keefe, now 48, denies the allegation. He has also pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting and engaging with sexual activity with a 15-year-old Carlisle schoolboy during the same year, 2006.

At Carlise Crown Court, a jury has been told that the defendant was convicted of raping another 15-year-old boy in 2006.

On day two of O’Keefe’s trial at the city’s crown court, the jury was shown a videoed police interview with the man who was living at the same lodgings as the defendant at the time of the alleged rape.

The man recalled going with the defendant, at that time about 30 years old, to a friend’s house to watch an England v Portugal football match on TV.

The man said he drank three cans before arriving at the house, where the men were “drinking and smoking and having a laugh.” After this, he and O’Keefe returned to the flat where they both had rooms.

“I’d had too much to drink and went to sleep in my bed in my room,” the man told police, saying he went to bed at 9pm. He recalled nothing from that point until O’Keefe woke him.

He asked him what he was doing and O'Keefe told him “not to worry” before then raping him, he said. The man said: “I was very intoxicated; I was drinking to excess.”

Looking back, the man said he believed O’Keefe had earlier “plied him” with drink and drugs, giving him another cannabis joint whenever he was not smoking one, attempting to get him in a state where he was not cohesive.

“That was part of his plan for the day,” he said. “It’s only in hindsight that I recognised that was happening.”

During the rape, said the man, he froze.

He said he felt relieved when he later learned that O’Keefe had been arrested “for doing the same thing to someone else,” a reference to the case that resulted in the defendant being convicted of raping a schoolboy.

The man then told the police officer that after the incident his life had gone into a “downward spiral.” He said: “I had a management job and was making good money.

“Then this happened.

“It just ruined my life. I could not cope with it; I was angry, drinking too much. I wasn’t able to make rational decisions or deal with things. It got to the point where it was ruining my life.”

Under cross examination from defence barrister Brendan Burke, who suggested  the defendant had no interest in football, the witness said: “I don’t think he was there for the football.

“I believe he was there for different reasons.”

In later evidence, he clarified this, saying: “I believe he was there to ply me with drugs and alcohol.”

Mr Burke said: “This didn’t happen; you have made up because you, no doubt along with many others, hate Barry O’Keefe.” The man replied with: “That’s a lie.”

Asked why he had not left the digs he was in after the alleged rape, the man said it was the first “stable accommodation” he had had since he was a 16-year-old.

Addressing the man, prosecutor Peter Wilson said: "You've said you were raped by Mr O'Keefe. Is that true?" The man replied: "Yes."

The prosecutor then read aloud a series of statements, including one from the mother of the second alleged victim, who was 15 at the time of the events being described.

The teenager had talked about “killing himself” and said Barrie “touched him”. A female who knew the teenager also reported that he told her “Barrie” touched him in the “wrong places.”

The jury heard that O’Keefe, formerly of Denton Holme,  Carlisle, was previously convicted following a trial of raping another 15-year-old boy during a night-time fishing trip. The defendant pleaded not guilty and continues to deny that offence. 

The trial continues.