Taxi driver Raymond Shorten jailed for 17 years for raping two young passengers
Eimear Dodd
A Dublin taxi driver who was jailed earlier this week for 13 years for the rape of a young girl, has been told he will spend an additional 17 years in prison for the separate rapes of two other women.
Raymond Shorten (50), was jailed on Monday for 13 years following his conviction in May of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl in 2012.
On Thursday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott handed Shorten a combined sentence of 17 years in relation to his 2022 offences, which will run consecutive to the sentence imposed on Monday, meaning that Shorten faces a global sentence for his sexual offending of 30 years.
The judge said Shorten had exhibited “no regret or remorse” and was “completely unrepentant” for the damage, both physical and mental, caused to the two victims in this case.
Mr Justice McDermott noted that Shorten had gone on “in knowledge that he committed rape offences against a child” to identify two further victims and repeat his offence “without compunction or hesitation”.
He said he took into account the few mitigating features but added that the court must take into account the repeated nature of the sexual offending.
Shorten, of Melrose Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, was separately convicted at the Central Criminal Court in June of the rape and anal rape of a 19-year-old woman on June 26, 2022 and the rape of another woman, then aged 20, a couple of months later on August 9th.
The court previously heard that the two young women in this case had separately found themselves in a taxi after a night out socialising and drinking in Dublin city centre, where Shorten raped them.
Shorten denies any wrongdoing and does not accept responsibility for the offending. He has been in custody since August 2022.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
