Woman allegedly raped by taxi driver and didn’t know how to react

This article contains references to sexual assault and rape. The reader should read his opinion carefully.

By Eimear Dodd

A young woman who was allegedly raped by a taxi driver said she didn’t know how to react when she woke up and found the man on top of her.

The man, in his 50s, pleaded not guilty to raping that woman on a day in August 2022. He also denied raping and anal raping another woman the previous June.

The prosecution assumes that both women found themselves in a taxi after a sociable night in Dublin city centre and were raped by the accused.

The defendant, whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, denies the allegations and says that all sexual interactions between him and the women were consensual and initiated by them.

The complainant (now 21) told prosecutor Gerardine Small SC that she was with friends on August 8, 2022. She described getting up at 8am to go to work and later going to a friend’s house where she had a few drinks.

They then went to Dublin city centre, where the group had more drinks in several pubs.

They went out for a meal in the early hours of August 9, but she was not allowed to get a takeaway with her friends because she had already gotten food elsewhere.

She said she then decided to go home because she was “tired” and “quite drunk.”

The woman said she got into the back of a taxi and gave her address. She did not start a conversation with the driver and fell asleep because she was drunk.

She said the next thing she remembered was waking up and finding the taxi driver on top of her.

“I realized he was having sex with me… I didn’t want him to kiss me, I turned my head to the side.”

The young woman said she was in pain and “in shock.”

“I didn’t know how to react. I was awake at the time. It woke me up. I remember turning my head away so he wouldn’t kiss me.”

She said she couldn’t believe what was happening and “didn’t know how to defend herself.” She said she did not consent to the sex.

She said when the man finished, he told her to pull her clothes back up, which she did.

The woman said the incident lasted about five minutes, after which the taxi driver took her home and asked her to pay the fare.

She said she realized her phone was dead and went inside to get a charger before returning to the taxi. “I didn’t know what he was going to do next if I didn’t pay him,” she said.

She said her phone was not charging and her parents came out of the house to give the taxi driver cash.

The taxi drove off after she entered the house. She said her parents expected her to stay the night with friends and when they asked her questions, she “burst into tears” and told them what had happened.

The court heard that Gardai were contacted and the woman was later taken to a treatment facility for victims of sexual assault.

During cross-examination, the woman admitted that she had not initially given the taxi driver her full address, but denied that she was awake when the car stopped.

She told defence counsel Lorcan Staines SC that she could not remember any conversation about her evening outing with his client during the journey.

She denied the allegation that she had kissed the man, who had then returned her kiss.

Mr Staines said his client agreed when asked if she wanted him to get in the back seat. “No, that didn’t happen,” she replied.

The lawyer explained to her that she had initially told the police that she could remember the taxi stopping and the driver getting into the back seat of the car.

“I kept losing consciousness,” she said, adding that she could not remember the man sitting next to her in the back seat of the car or him taking off his pants and then hers.

“As I recall, my head was turned and he had sex with me. I did not instigate it, I did not consent.”

Mr Staines said: “Is it safe to say you don’t remember how it started?” The woman replied: “No, I was sleeping.”

The defense attorney stated that his client said they “had sex together” and that they were both “happy,” “smiling,” and “enjoyed.” The plaintiff denied this.

The woman agreed that the taxi had taken her home and acknowledged that she may have spoken to the man about her phone not charging fast enough.

“I remember being frustrated. I wanted him to leave,” she said.

In further evidence, the plaintiff’s mother stated that her daughter came home around 4 a.m. and that she was surprised because the woman had said she was staying overnight with friends.

Her daughter looked for a charger for her phone and then went back to the taxi because she had to pay. She said she gave her daughter cash to pay the fare.

She said her daughter was upset and crying when she returned home after paying the taxi fare.

Her daughter told her a few minutes later that the taxi driver had raped her. She said she was in shock and went to talk to her husband while her daughter went to her bedroom.

She said she went to her daughter’s room to comfort her and found the young woman crying. She said her daughter told her it was “so painful.”

“I hugged her, I didn’t know what to do,” said the plaintiff’s mother. She later said she asked her daughter what happened, but “she didn’t say much.”

The witness agreed with the defense that she had told police that her daughter had said the taxi driver had pulled down her clothes and then his own.

She confirmed to Ms Small that her daughter had told her that she was sleepy and fell asleep in the back seat of the taxi.

Two of the complainant’s friends stated that they had gone out to meet each other on the evening in question. One of them agreed with Mr Staines that the complainant did not appear drunk to her at the end of the evening.

The other said the plaintiff told her in a Snapchat call the next morning that she had been raped in a taxi. She said the woman told her she didn’t feel “that drunk” but was very sleepy and kept falling asleep.

She said the woman was very upset and her words were “jumbled.”

The jury was shown video surveillance footage of the taxi that picked up the plaintiff and its journey, as well as location data of the vehicle.

The trial continues at the Central Criminal Court before Judge Paul McDermott and the jury.