Bus driver abuses 16-year-old girl who fell asleep on the last way home

A bus driver sexually abused a 16-year-old girl after she fell asleep on the last ride home.

Damien Doyle, 48, offered the girl a lift when she was stranded with no money in a depot in St Helens, Merseyside, late at night.

He even told the victim that he had a daughter his age and that he would “hate it if she were to be in that situation.”

But instead, he took advantage of the opportunity by locking her in his car and taking advantage of her after remarking, “I bet you get really horny when you’re drunk.”

At a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, it was revealed that the teenage victim had taken a bus from Queen Square in Liverpool city centre to St Helens in September 2022, but had fallen asleep during the journey.

When she woke up in the depot, she discovered that there were no more trains running that evening.

Prosecutor Steven Ball said the girl had no cash on her and did not want to call her parents to pick her up because she was “afraid they would get angry.”

But she spotted Doyle outside as he was returning to his car after his shift and approached him.

The defendant then offered to drive her home and told her that he had a daughter her age and would “hate it if she were to be in such a situation”.

But as they sat in the car, the military veteran put his hand on hers and said, “Oh my God. You’re cold. I’m going to warm you up.”

Doyle, who had worked as a bus driver for 15 years, then asked her if she had a boyfriend, complimented her and “engulfed her hands.”

He also told her, “I bet you get really horny when you’re drunk. I could take us to the beach right now.”

The father then locked the doors of his vehicle, placed his hand on the victim’s leg and began to stroke her inner thighs while still driving after turning towards Kirkby.

However, the “frightened” teenager told him that there had been a “change of plans” and that her friend would pick her up.

Doyle then let her out of the car and she hid in a bush before being picked up.

In a statement read out in court on her behalf, the victim said: “I felt so vulnerable at that moment with someone I thought I could trust.”

“When he suggested going to the beach, my heart sank. I began to think of the stories of terrible things that happen to girls and sometimes kill them.

“The feeling of his hand rubbing the inside of my thigh is something I will never forget. He has no empathy for how I felt that night, no guilt for his actions, and no self-awareness for his inappropriate behavior.”

Doyle’s previous convictions include assault with consequences in 1996 and 2008, but none for sexual offenses.

Carmel Wilde, who mitigated the offence, told the court: “He denies the offence. His partner is sitting at the back of the courtroom and has been here throughout the proceedings. She knows a better side of him and is standing by him.”

“He hasn’t been in trouble for some time. Nothing since 2008. He served in the armed forces before and had an exemplary record. He has always been employed and a hard worker.

“It was an opportunistic offense. It was not something he was after, young girls. The plaintiff said very eloquently that she did not want this man to go to prison. She wanted to understand why someone would do something like that.”

Doyle, of Birchwood Way, Kirkby, Merseyside, was found guilty by a jury of sexual assault. He was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Passing sentence, Judge David Swinnerton said: “I accept that what happened was not planned in advance, but you tried to take advantage of the opportunity. That was predatory in my view.”

“There were two reasons why she got into the car with you. First, because you were a bus driver and second, because she trusted you because you held a public position.

“The other reason was that you told her you had a daughter her age and you would hate for your daughter to be in that situation and so you would not abandon her. She was, not surprisingly, terrified.”

Doyle’s partner told him from the stands to “stay strong” as he was led into the cells.

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