A young woman allegedly abducted pretended to be dead while her abductors argued over what to do with her, the High Court in Belfast has heard.
She said she feared for her life after being bundled into a car by a man who attacked her while another woman drove them across the border, prosecutors said.
A further alleged sexual assault was carried out before the woman said she escaped from a house in Newry and raised the alarm.
Details emerged as one of the two people accused of taking her was refused bail.
Daniel Carroll, 22, with an address at Francis Hughes Park, Belleeks, Newry, faces charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment and sexual assault.
The court heard how PSNI and garda officers were alerted to an abduction in the Seapark area of Dundalk last December.
Later the same night a Newry resident contacted police to say a young woman had arrived at her door hysterical and barefooted.
The alleged victim said she had been grabbed and forced into a car while going to meet her boyfriend near the Square in Dundalk.
According to her account, a man alleged to have been Mr Carroll sat on her chest and repeatedly punched her about the head and face.
It was claimed that she screamed and begged for help, only for her abductor to tell his female accomplice to drive on.
The Peugeot vehicle then headed for a car park at the Carrickdale Hotel, close to the border, where further assaults were allegedly carried out on both women.
Three witnesses to the incident tried to follow the car but lost it in the Newry area, the court heard.
Conor Maguire, prosecuting, said: "The injured party stated she was so afraid for her life that she played dead and overheard the male and female arguing about what they were going to do with the body."
But the woman, an asthma sufferer, had to get up again to use her inhaler, the court was told.
She was dropped off with the man police believe was Mr Carroll at a house on Newry's Orior Road by the driver who then sped off.
He took her inside and asked if she was afraid of him before kissing her on the lips and moving his hand up her thigh, it was alleged.
At this stage the woman said she managed to escape and run to a nearby house.
Mr Carroll was arrested after she was able to tell police where she had been taken.
Mr Maguire confirmed that CCTV footage of the incident has been obtained from gardaí.
He added that the woman was treated in hospital for extensive swelling, cuts and bruises to her face and body.
Defence lawyers mounted a renewed application for bail by claiming an available £5,000 surety, new address and potential delay in the case going to trial constituted a change of circumstances.
But Mr Justice Stephens rejected their application and ruled that Mr Carroll must remain in custody.
The judge said: "The prima facie case against him is that he is an individual with total disregard for all standards of decency."
