A taxi driver accused of raping two different women in his car has been described by prosecuting counsel as “predatory”, a trial has heard.
The 50-year-old taxi man has pleaded not guilty to the rape and anal rape of one woman in June 2022. He has further denied the rape of another woman the following month.
It is the State's case that each young woman found themselves in a taxi after a night out socialising in Dublin city centre and that each was raped by the accused.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the allegations and claims that any sexual interaction between him and each woman was consensual.
Closing the case on behalf of the prosecution on Thursday, senior counsel Gerardine Small submitted to jurors that there was an “inherent unlikelihood in two young girls within a period of six or seven weeks making similar accusations against the same man”.
Compelling witnesses
Ms Small suggested to the jury that both complainants were credible and compelling witnesses. She said neither woman consented to sexual activity and the man would have known this.
She said consent was central to this case, adding that a person who is asleep or unconscious cannot give consent, nor can someone who is highly intoxicated.
She asked jurors to carefully look at CCTV evidence in relation to both incidents, particularly June 6th, 2022, the night the first complainant was allegedly raped by the man.
She suggested the footage shows the complainant was under the influence of alcohol while she was walking and the man saw this.
She asked the jury to consider why a taxi driver would stop on a busy night, when he had not been hailed “for a girl who is clearly under the influence” and didn't ask for a destination.
Vulnerable
She suggested the man was “predatory”. “He had identified his prey. He knows she is vulnerable.”
She suggested the man stopped because he “targeted” the woman, who was not in a position to consent. “She categorically did not consent. The accused knew full well she did not.”
Ms Small contended that the man's version of the night was “implausible”.
Referring to the second complainant, Ms Small said this woman was on a night out on August 9th, 2022 and had a few drinks. “She wanted to get into her own bed, she gets in the back of the taxi, thinking she is going to get home.”
She asked the jury to consider the woman's evidence of waking up with the man on top of her, and moving her head as she didn't want him to kiss her. Ms Small submitted to the jury that this is a “very graphic memory”.
She asked the jury to consider the man's statements to gardaí. Ms Small suggested his claim that sexual contact was initiated by the young women as “absolutely ludicrous”.
She put it to the jury that the man was a licenced taxi driver and his job was to get each woman safely home.
“That’s not what he did, because he preyed on their vulnerabilities and the fact those girls were inebriated. He preyed on that and he had sexual intercourse without their consent knowing full well what he was doing.”
Lorcan Staines SC, defending, said there was no doubt that his client's behaviour was “deeply unpleasant” and acknowledged jurors may feel “revulsion or anger” towards a licenced taxi driver who had not met his professional obligations.
Mr Staines told jurors they aren't being asked to decide if his client is a “good guy”, if he should be allowed to drive a taxi again or the appropriateness of his behaviour. He said it is accepted that a taxi should be a “bubble of safety” for anyone using it.
He told the jury they set aside emotion and sympathy and consider the evidence dispassionately and clinically.
Mr Staines submitted that there was no suggestion that either complainant said “no” and while a “woman doesn't have to say stop”, he suggested it's easier for a jury “to assess if an accused person knew what was taking place was not consensual if there was some sort of communication” taking place.
He noted his client was driving a taxi with a car registration, taxi number and a tracker. His client made no attempts to hide or get away, instead driving each woman home.
He asked the jury to consider both complainants' evidence, his client's statements and to compare these with the “independent” CCTV and the examinations of the complainants at the sexual assault treatment units.
Mr Staines suggested that a not guilty verdict doesn't mean his client is innocent or behaved appropriately, but rather that the case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
“For you to find him guilty of the prosecution case, you have to be satisfied that this is a man who knew that in both June and August 2022 that he had sex with two different women, both of whom didn’t consent, and at the time he knew he had raped these two people.”
Additional copy
In other evidence, three women each said they had had consensual sex with the accused man in the back of his taxi on separate occasions.
One woman said she was at a party in 2018 or 2019 and called a taxi to take her home. She said they kissed outside her home, then the man asked her if she wanted to go somewhere and she agreed.
She said they exchanged phone numbers, and they had consensual sex on several occasions after this. The woman said the man “always had the meter on” and she always paid her fare.
She said the man texted her on June 25th 2022 asking if she was out, but she didn't reply. She spoke to him on August as she needed a taxi, and he drove her.
A second woman said she was walking home after a night out in January 2021 when a taxi driven by the accused man pulled in beside her.
The man asked if she needed a taxi home.
“I told the man I had no money, he said 'okay, I wouldn't let someone walk home alone'”.
She said she was really drunk that night and replied 'yes', when the man asked her if she wanted to stay out. She said she didn't know what he meant.
The woman said they had consensual sex and the man dropped her home after this.
She outlined that the man picked her up on two other occasions, one of which he asked again if she wanted to stay out, but she said no.
The woman said the man text her several times asking if she was out. She said the man didn't charge her when she used his taxi, but she asked him to turn on the meter on the last occasion as she felt “he was expecting something from me”.
She said it made her feel so uncomfortable that she didn't think she'd call him for a taxi ever again.
She said she had sex with the man as she was drunk, adding that if “I got into the taxi sober, I wouldn’t have had sex with him as he is double my age and I don’t find him attractive.”
A third woman said the man picked her up after a night out in 2022, and they had consensual sex in the back of the taxi. He dropped her home after this, and she paid the fare.
In her speech, Ms Small asked the jury to consider if the evidence of the man's consensual interactions with these three women is relevant to their considerations.
Mr Staines suggested to the jury that the idea of a woman at the end of a night out having sex with a taxi driver might sound a “bit crazy”, however, there are these three witness who say they had consensual sex with his client.
He submitted that all five women are independent of each other and his client was engaged in “highly improbable crazy sexual behaviour”.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
