Taxi driver who raped two young women was convicted of raping a 7-year-old girl in 2012

The woman, now 20, said she wanted to use Shorten’s name but remain anonymous. The Central Criminal Court heard that Shorten was known to her family at the time.

The offence came to light after the girl left a handwritten note on her grandmother’s pillow in 2020 saying Shorten had sexually abused her. She was interviewed by specialist gardaí in early 2021.

The court heard on Monday that Shorten first raped the young girl in the days following her mother’s funeral.

The assault took place in a bathroom at her family home and Shorten put his hand over the girl’s mouth to stop her from screaming. She hit her head on a radiator during the incident and was left in pain and bleeding afterwards.

Shorten raped her again on a bed when she was seven or eight years old. She described feeling sore and uncomfortable during the incident and remembered it happening at night when the lights were on.

On another occasion, he abused her in the car. The court heard the girl screamed and he stopped.

Shorten was voluntarily interviewed by police in June 2020. He denied the allegations, saying “Oh my God, that is 110% a lie” in reference to the first rape incident. He denied ever being at the girl’s family home and said the allegations were “appalling”.

He said the second rape was a “pure, fabricated lie”. He said he was “confused by the whole thing” and thought it was a “set-up” when the gardaí contacted him.

He has eight previous convictions, including five for traffic offenses.

Statement from the victims

A victim impact statement was read to the court by prosecutor Gerardine Small SC. The young woman said she had been “severely exploited” by Shorten, whom she never liked.

She said, “He always scared me” and she didn’t want to be near him. She said she was scared and didn’t understand what was happening.

She said:

Part of me knew that what he was doing to me was not right and could not be right, but another part of me thought it had to be right because why else would a grown man do something like that to a seven-year-old.

The woman described the effects of the abuse on her, including trouble sleeping, self-harming, suicidal thoughts and strong emotional outbursts in her youth. She said she was angry about the sexual abuse but could not comprehend what had happened to her.

She said she was terrified of being left alone with a male teacher because she feared “they would do the same thing to me.” It was only when she started sex education classes at school at the age of 14 that she realised what Shorten had done to her was wrong.

The woman described how she had suffered from panic attacks in recent years and described “weeks where I had a panic attack every 20 minutes. I thought I was going to die.”

She said she was relieved when she was told the Attorney-General had decided to prosecute Shorten, but she was very anxious about the process. When Shorten was convicted, she felt like she had “finally found the beginning of the end”.

She said Shorten should have “protected me, not abused me”.

Ms Small told the court that the prosecution considered the case fell into the category of more serious convictions and deserved a maximum sentence of between ten and 15 years.

She noted that aggravating circumstances included the age difference between Shorten and the girl, as well as her young age and vulnerability at the time.

Defence counsel Lorcan Staines SC said his client did not accept responsibility for the offences. The barrister said Shorten had a long working career, first in a factory, then as a milkman before working as a taxi driver.

Shorten is the father of seven children and hopes to rebuild his relationship with them in the future. He has also lost his marriage and his relationship with his parents. Shorten has worked in the prison laundry while incarcerated and is subject to strict prisoner regulations.

Judge Kerida Naidoo adjourned the case for a final decision until 19 July.

Rapes in taxis

Three days later, on July 22, Shorten is due to be sentenced in connection with the three taxi rape charges.

Shorten had pleaded not guilty to the rape and anal rape of a 19-year-old woman on June 26, 2022, and the rape of another woman, then 20, several months later on August 9.

After a night of drinking in Dublin city centre, each of the young women found themselves alone in a taxi, where they were raped by the driver, Shorten.

– If you are experiencing any of the issues addressed in this article, click here for a list of support services.