Dublin taxi driver found guilty of raping seven-year-old girl 12 years ago

Convicted double rapist and taxi driver Raymond Shorten has been found guilty of two further rapes – both involving the victim, who was seven years old at the time of the incident.

Shorten, who is awaiting sentencing for the rape of two young women in Dublin, was also convicted of two counts of rape and sexual abuse of a child.

RTÉ reported that the assault on the girl, who had lost her mother shortly before the rapes and sexual abuse, came to light in 2020 after the girl left a handwritten note on her grandmother’s pillow explaining what had happened.

Shorten was known to the victim’s family, who described not realising that what he did to her was wrong as they did not understand that an adult could harm a child.

At a trial earlier this year, the 50-year-old denied the charges after telling gardaí the girl’s statement was “110 percent a lie” before being found guilty.

The victim stated that the abuse caused her to experience outbursts of emotion and anger and that she was terrified of being alone with male teachers.

According to the DDP, this is a criminal offence of more serious category and is punishable by a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years.

Shorten will be sentenced for the above offences on 19 July, with sentencing for the rape of two young women expected on 22 July.

As Gript previously reportedShorten who has an address at Melrose Crescent in Clondalkin, Dublin 22, was found guilty of raping two young women in the back seat of his taxi in June and August 2022.

A jury at the Central Criminal Court found him guilty on all counts.

Shorten had denied raping the women – both now 21 – on June 9, 2022 and August 9, 2022, and claimed the sex was consensual.

However, prosecutor Gerardine Small described his statements that he had consensual sex with each of the women as a “farce” and “ridiculous”.

The court heard that the two young women had found themselves in Shorten’s taxi after separate nighttime trips to Dublin city centre.

One of the victims said she was taken home after the rape in the north of the city and asked to pay the fare, the court heard. She told her mother that she had been raped by the taxi driver.

Last week, she testified in court that she fell asleep and woke up with Shorten on top of her. She explained: “I realised he was having sex with me… I didn’t want him to kiss me, so I turned my head to the side.”

Read the full report Here.