Taxi driver accused of rape claims woman asked: “Isn’t this included in the bill?” during consensual sex – The Irish Times

A taxi driver accused of raping two young women claimed that the second complainant asked him “if this was excluded from the bill” while they were having what he called consensual sex.

The Central Criminal Court heard how the man told police in a prepared statement that the then-20-year-old woman smiled and kissed him during sex. He said she then asked, “Wasn’t that included in the bill?”

“I thought it was a joke. I said ‘No, it’s not’ in a joking way,” he told gardaí.

The 50-year-old did not admit to raping this woman, which took place on August 9, 2022. Moreover, he denied that rape and anal rape of another woman took place in June last year.

According to the state, each young woman found herself in a taxi after a night out socializing in Dublin city center and each of them was raped by the defendant.

( A taxi driver accused of rape told gardaí the interaction was consensual )

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the allegations and claims that any sexual contact between him and the two women was consensual.

On Tuesday, the Central Criminal Court heard that the man had been detained at his home on August 22, 2022 in connection with the alleged rape of the second complainant, which occurred on August 9. After being lectured, he replied, “I didn’t rape anyone.”

The woman previously testified in court that she neither solicited sex nor consented to it.

The court heard from the man who, during questioning, provided Gardaí with a written statement, which was read to the court on Tuesday.

In his statement read by prosecutor Gerardine Small SC, the man “categorically denied” the rape allegation and said any sexual contact with the woman was consensual.

He said he was working that night and a woman approached his taxi asking if he would take her to her hometown. He agreed and she got into the back of the taxi.

He said they talked during the trip and the woman told him her phone was dead and that was the only way she could pay. He said he could charge his phone when he got home and then pay him.

The man said the woman had become quiet and believed she had fallen asleep during the journey. He testified that he drove around her hometown to raise the fee, which he was ashamed of.

He said he parked his car to check her address and noticed she was awake. She then leaned forward and kissed him.

He said he kissed her back and was “flattered that a younger woman was interested in him.”

In other evidence, the jury was shown further CCTV footage and location data showing the taxi leaving the woman’s hometown and returning to Dublin on August 9.

A Garda analyst testified that footage shown to the jury on Tuesday showed the taxi was stopped for approximately seven minutes at the location where the alleged rape of the complainant took place.

The surveillance video shows the man getting out of the car and sitting in the back passenger seat.

Just over six minutes later, the man exited the vehicle and returned to the driver’s seat.

The witness agreed with Lorcan Staines SC, maintaining that location data recorded the taxi stopping outside the woman’s home for approximately eight minutes.

Gardaí identified the vehicle’s registration from CCTV and the taxi was stopped a few days after the alleged incident.

DNA samples were taken from the man during his detention and his profile matched the DNA identified on samples taken during the examination of the woman.

The jury also heard testimony from a medical examiner from the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU), where the woman was examined on the afternoon of August 9.

The witness said the woman told her the man got into the back of the car, took off her clothes and had sex with her.

She also said she observed numerous bruises on the woman’s thighs and internal damage to her vagina. She told the court there was no physical damage to the vagina that would distinguish consensual sex from non-consensual sex.

The process continues.