A sportsman has been questioned and released after being arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault in Dublin last month.

He was arrested by appointment at Dundrum Garda station on Thursday night. Gardaí also took DNA samples from the man with his consent.

The alleged assault happened on the night of December 9th or early the next morning, when a complaint was made to gardaí. The woman has since made a formal statement to investigators, on foot of which the man was arrested.

He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 before being released without charge. A file on the matter is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the investigation is ongoing.

It is understood gardaí were initially alerted to the alleged rape when an acquaintance of the woman made a complaint. They visited the woman and spoke to her informally and she was taken to a sexual assault treatment unit where forensic samples were taken.

The woman initially did not make a formal statement of complaint to gardaí but was co-operating with and speaking to investigators.

However she recently met gardaí and made a full statement alleging sexual assault. She also told gardaí she had been physically assaulted by the male.

After becoming aware of the allegations last month the sportsman told gardaí, through his solicitor, that he was willing to be interviewed. However investigators required a statement of complaint from the alleged victim before they could move forward.