A man accused of raping a woman with Down syndrome has told his trial that she willingly went back to his Dublin flat after they met on the street.

The accused man is from Pakistan where he says you can’t just approach women on the street; but since moving to Ireland, he says he often asks random women to go back to his place.

“It’s legal here” he said, and “I do it because I enjoy sex”.

He told the jury he met his alleged victim on June 12th 2013. He said she was out for a jog and stopped for a chat.

He said she agreed to stay with him and followed him back to his flat where there was some consensual sexual contact between them.

Aside from the rape charge, he’s also accused of sexual assault and having sex with a “mentally impaired person”.

He claims he didn’t know what Down syndrome was, and wouldn’t have approached her if he’d known. He said that in some big cities back in Pakistan, people with special needs wear badges to let others know.

The prosecution will cross-examine him tomorrow morning.