Raymond Shorten, a taxi driver convicted last month raping two young women in his taxi in 2022, has also been found guilty of raping a seven-year-old girl back in 2012.
Shorten, aged 50 and residing in Melrose Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin, committed these acts when he was approximately 38 years old. The rapes occurred twice, with the first incident happening shortly after the child’s mother passed away. The second rape occurred when she was about seven or eight years old, and a third incident involved a sexual assault in a car. The crimes came to light in 2020 when the girl left a handwritten note detailing the abuse on her grandmother’s pillow.
Despite denying the charges vehemently, Shorten was found guilty on all counts after a trial earlier this year. In her victim impact statement, the now 20-year-old survivor expressed how Shorten, who was acquainted with her family, had always made her uneasy. She described feeling severely taken advantage of, recounting her confusion and distress during the abuse. She struggled with emotional outbursts and anger afterward, and her perception of normalcy was deeply affected. Only during sex education classes in school did she begin to realize the gravity of what had been done to her.
Following the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to pursue charges, the survivor expressed relief mixed with terror. Upon Shorten’s conviction, she finally felt a sense of closure, believing it could mark the end of a painful chapter in her life. She highlighted the profound impact of the abuse on her life, lamenting that Shorten, instead of protecting her, had caused irreparable harm.
As Shorten awaits sentencing for these offenses and others involving the young women he assaulted in 2022, the case has sparked renewed calls to address safety measures within transportation services in Ireland. Some advocates suggest it may be time to consider reopening Uber and other ride-sharing apps in the country, potentially providing safer alternatives for passengers.
