A witness has told a trial at Limerick Circuit Court that she was shocked and disgusted when an inmate at Limerick prison threatened to rape her.
The threat was made in a dispute over complaints about dirty showers on a wing at Limerick Prison.
Tegan McGhee was giving evidence at the trial of 22-year-old transgender woman Barbie Kardashian who denies four charges of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to her and to a prison officer at Limerick Prison on a number of dates last year.
The accused, who the court heard was born male but now identifies as female, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Tegan McGhee, who was an inmate on the same wing as the accused, said she went to use one of the showers that afternoon and was disgusted to find there was body hair all over the walls.
She said this problem had arisen before and inmates were all told to clean the showers after them, and that she herself had used the fire hose to clean the shower before.
She said she told prison officers about the problem.
She said Barbie Kardashian was asked by an officer if she had cleaned the shower after using it and she said she had.
She said she heard Barbie Kardashian knocking on another prisoner's door asking if had they complained about her.
She came to Tegan McGhee’s door and also asked her, and the witness said she had complained about her.
The witness said Barbie Kardashian said: "I’m going to rape you so that you cannot have anymore children."
She said she knew it was Barbie Kardashian who had uttered the words because she was standing outside her cell door, and she had a distinctive American accent.
She said she was extremely shocked, upset and disgusted that somebody could say something like that.
Under cross examination, Tegan McGhee admitted she had not met or spoken to Barbie Kardashian or seen her face to face.
Prison officer Katherine Halley who was on duty that day told the court she heard the accused woman Barbie Kardashian conversing with witness Tegan McGhee and she said to her "if I get my hands on you I will rape you with an implement and you will not have kids again."
Officer Halley said she had no doubt it was Barbie Kardashian who spoke those words.
The trial is continuing.
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