A taxi driver has gone on trial charged with raping two young women in separate incidents in Dublin in the summer of 2022.
The court heard that both women had both been working, socialising and drinking in the city centre. The first incident took place in June 2022 and the second in August of that year.
Each young woman found themselves in a taxi driven by the accused while on their way home from a night out and each said they were raped by him.
The man in his 50s, from Dublin, denies the charges and says that, in each case, the interactions with the women were instigated by them and were consensual.
Prosecuting counsel Gerardine Small told the jury that the first young woman, who is now 21, was socialising after work on the night of 25 June 2022 and had five pints of cider. She became separated from her friends and tried to make her own way home.
The court heard she was not used to drinking so much and was very drunk. She then woke up in the passenger seat of a car driven by the accused man.
The prosecution alleges this woman was raped a number of times as she was drifting in and out of consciousness.
She was eventually dropped near her home in the early hours of the morning and gardaí were alerted later that day. CCTV footage gathered by them identified the young woman getting into a taxi and the accused man was identified as the driver.
DNA samples taken from him on his arrest in September 2022 matched DNA taken from the woman’s body.
The man gave gardaí a preprepared statement, saying that the woman had instigated the physical interaction and any sexual interaction was consensual.
The second young woman was working very early on 8 August 2022 and then went socialising with friends. Ms Small said this young woman was very tired and got into a taxi in the city centre.
She was falling in and out of sleep and woke up to find the accused man having sex with her. She was shocked and felt vulnerable and did not feel able to fight back.
The jury heard the driver brought her to her destination and charged her for the fare. When he was arrested in August 2022, DNA samples matched DNA found on swabs taken from the woman’s body.
In this case, the driver also claimed the woman instigated the physical contact and that the sexual encounter was consensual.
The court heard the two women did not know each other.
Ms Small told the jurors that while the two cases were being tried together they must treat each allegation separately.
