THE HIGH COURT has refused to grant bail to a Romanian man accused of raping a woman in Scotland in early 2017.
Raul Covaci Novak was arrested in Co Donegal earlier this month on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Scottish Authorities.
In the European Arrest Warrant seeking his surrender Novak, and another man, is accused of raping a young woman who was allegedly lured into a car thinking it was a taxi on 1 January 2017.
The young woman was inebriated at the time of the alleged incident, the EAW states.
Following the alleged incident, Novak was brought before Kirkaldy Court in Scotland and was granted bail.
It is claimed he did not attend at court for his trial and fled to Romania.
It is claimed that he subsequently moved to Ireland, and was living in the Letterkenny area in Co Donegal with a relative for about a year before his arrest earlier this month by the gardaí.
Today, Novak applied to be released on bail until the High Court has determined the extradition request.
However, his application was refused by Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon.
The judge said while Novak was entitled to a presumption of innocence in respect of the charges he is facing in Scotland the Judge said that based on the evidence given by the gardaí was not prepared to grant Novak bail.
The state, represented by Ronan Kennedy BL had opposed the bail application, on grounds that Novak represented a flight risk, and due to the serious nature of the crimes, he is accused of.
Evidence was given to the court by Detective Sergeant Jim Kirwan who said that Novak did not have any strong ties or assets in the jurisdiction and that the accused represented a strong flight risk.
Novak, represented by Mark Lynam BL said his client was willing to abide by any bail conditions set down by the court and had offered a surety of €2000 which was a significant sum of money for him.
The gardaí had his national identity card and he had no passport, his counsel added. His counsel said his client had family members living in Donegal.
His client said he had left Scotland to return to Romania with his wife whose father died. He had contacted his solicitor in Scotland to say he would return to face the charges.
Counsel said Novak’s Scottish solicitor had also informed him that it was too late to return to that jurisdiction voluntarily and a warrant for his arrest would be issued.
After refusing Mr Novak bail, the judge remanded him in custody and he will appear before the High Court extradition list next month.
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