The jury in the trial of a taxi driver accused of the rape of two young women on two separate nights in 2022 has been told he was “predatory” and targeted vulnerable women who were drunk and trying to get home.
Prosecuting counsel Gerardine Clarke described the man’s accounts of having consensual sex with each of the women as a “farce” and “ludicrous”.
The man denies the rape allegaions.
Earlier the court heard defence evidence from three other women who said they had consensual sex with the same driver on other occasions in the back of his taxi.
One of the women said she would never have had sex with him if she had been sober.
Defence counsel Lorcan Staines told the jurors they were not there to decide on morals or whether the man’s behaviour was appropriate but to decide on his guilt or innocence without emotion.
All three defence witnesses made statements to gardaÍ after the man was arrested and all three described having sex with the man in his taxi, sometimes on more than one occasion.
Woman was ‘really, really drunk’
The first woman described getting a taxi home after a party.
She said after the driver stopped at her house, they kissed and he asked if she wanted to go somewhere.
She said they drove up the mountains. The woman said she had been drinking but was aware of what she was doing and they had sex.
After that she said she would get a lift from him every six weeks or so. She said they did not always have sex but if they did she said it was “up the mountains or in an alleyway”.
The second girl said she was kicked out of a nightclub in Dublin city centre in January 2021, and left her handbag and money inside.
She said the driver pulled up beside her and asked her if she needed a taxi.
When she told him she had no money, he said he would not let someone walk home on their own.
She said she was “really, really drunk”, “drunker than normal”.
In her statement she said the driver asked her if she wanted to “stay out” and she agreed.
They drove into the entrance to a building and they had sex in the back of the taxi.
She said he texted her a few times after that usually to see if she was out.
She said the last time she was in his car she asked him to turn on the meter as she felt he was expecting something from her.
She said he had last texted her into the early hours of 9 August 2022, the same day the second complainant alleges she was raped.
This defence witness said the reason she had sex with the driver was because she was so drunk.
She said if she had been sober she would not have had sex with him because she said he was double her age and she did not find him attractive.
The third woman said she had flagged down the taxi after being out and was “very drunk”.
She said she told him her life story and he was a “good listener”.
She ended up having sex in the back of the taxi, she said.
She also invited him to her house about a week later and had sex again. She said he was nice to her and it was “just sex”.
Garda statement ‘absolute and utter farce’ – prosecuting counsel
In her closing speech, Ms Small told the jurors that consent to a sexual act must be free and voluntarily given.
She said a person who was asleep or unconscious could not consent and if a person could not consent because of alcohol or drugs, then they were incapable of consent.
She told the jurors this was a case screaming out for their common sense and their experience of life.
She said they may decide that the evidence of the three other women who said they consented to sex was irrelevant as the complainants in this case did not consent.
Ms Small said the evidence of the two young women was compelling and there was no question that either of them consented to having sex with the man.
She said the first young woman was clearly under the influence when she is seen on CCTV footage walking down a street.
She said the driver is seen doing two U-turns.
Ms Small said he had clearly seen the woman. She said he identified his prey and knew the woman was vulnerable when he stopped.
She pointed out that the young woman did not hail the taxi herself.
She said she was targeted by the man. She said the driver could be seen looking out the window at the woman and she said it was crystal clear what was happening.
Ms Small said the fact that the woman was on her period was relevant in relation to whether or not she consented to sex.
She said a statement given by the man to gardaí in which he said they had consensual sex and that the first complainant had taken the lead was an “absolute and utter farce”.
She said the young woman was 19-years-old, naïve and incredibly vulnerable.
She did not consent and was not in a position to consent, Ms Small said. And she said the accused man knew full well she did not.
Ms Small said the second complainant was in fear and shock and she described the statement of the man that this young woman had initiated sexual activity as “ludicrous”.
Ms Small said it was unlikely that two young women who did not know each other would make similar accusations against the same man within six or seven weeks of each other.
Ms Small told the jury the man was a public service vehicle licence holder whose job was to get the two young women home. But she said that was not what he did.
He preyed on vulnerabilities – and the fact that both girls were drunk and very sleepy.
He said he had sexual intercourse with them without their consent, knowing fully well what he was doing.
She said she they could be satisfied the prosecution had proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt and asked the jury to find him guilty of all the counts against him.
Jury asked by defence to bring ‘true verdict’
In his closing speech, defence counsel Lorcan Staines said there was no doubt this was an appalling case.
He said the picture painted of his client’s actions and behaviours was “to put it mildly” deeply unpleasant.
But he told the jurors they must decide the case without prejudice and emotion.
He said they were not there to decide if the man should ever be allowed to drive a taxi again or if he was a good guy or not.
The case was not about morals, or appropriateness or his future employment.
He told them they had to be sure about his guilt.
He said if they accepted his account of what had happened was reasonably possible then they had to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Mr Staines said rape cases were particularly difficult as there were only two people present and the jury had to deal with the accounts of human beings.
He said there were quite significant question marks, difficulties and flaws in the case and there were issues of memory and confusion.
Mr Staines said his client’s accounts of what happened, may have sounded highly unlikely.
But when gardaí investigated sexual messages on his phone, they found three women who did have consensual sex with him in the back of his taxi.
Mr Staines also pointed out to the jury that the car was stopped in a cul de sac with the first complainant for ten to 11 minutes.
He said this was a long time. And asked the jury to consider a non-consensual sexual encounter taking place in the back seat of such a small car for ten to 11 minutes.
He said the unpleasant truth was that the young woman did not remember how the encounter had begun.
Mr Staines said there was no suggestion either of the women said stop at any stage.
He said a woman does not have to say stop. But he said it was a lot easier to assess if an accused person knew if the sexual intercourse was non-consensual if they are asked to stop.
He said to convict of rape, the jurors must be sure the man did not know the women were consenting or was reckless as to whether they were consenting or not.
He told the jurors that a verdict of not guilty did not mean the man had acted appropriately or that he was a good man.
All it meant is that they had a reasonable doubt. He asked them to bring in a true verdict according to the evidence.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott will charge the jury tomorrow, outlining the legal principles and summarising the evidence.
After that the six women and six men will begin considering their verdicts.
