Convicted rapist Raymond Shorten, jailed for 17 years for raping two women as he worked as a taxi driver, likely attacked other women in crimes that have not come to light, and those victims should now come forward, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.
Shorten (50) was jailed on Thursday for the rape of two women, in separate incidents in 2022, after picking them up as passengers as he worked in his taxi in 2022. Earlier this week, Shorten received a 13-year-sentence for raping a girl twice when she was seven or eight years old on dates more than 10 years ago.
Commenting on the case, Mr Harris said there was a “reasonable proposition” that convicted rapist Raymond Shorten had attacked other women, in cases that had not come to light. He urged other victims to contact the Garda force.
“I would make an appeal to them to come forward and make complaints,” the commissioner said, speaking to the media after a public meeting of the Policing Authority in Dublin on Thursday.
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“This individual has been dealt with through the criminal justice system. He has been dealt with in terms of trial and a verdict has been passed by the jury, and he has now been incarcerated. I would say, then, to others who may have been his victim, to please come forward to An Garda Siochána and make a complaint.”
Gardaí have confirmed that when the two women, aged 19 and 20 years, came forward with complaints that they were raped by Shorten, his PSV licence was reviewed and suspended. That occurred from the time the investigation began.
Shorten (50), of Melrose Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, was found guilty of two counts of rape and one of anal rape by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last month.
In her evidence, the first woman said she drank five pints of cider, an amount she was not used to, on the night of June 25th, 2022. She described gaps in her memory of her journey home. She recalled waking up in the front passenger seat of a car in the early hours, with a man driving. She said he moved her to the back seat where he raped her anally and vaginally before returning to the driver’s seat and dropping her near her home.
The second woman said she was tired and drunk after going for drinks in Dublin city centre on August 8th, 2022. She fell asleep in the back of a taxi and the next thing she remembered was waking up as the driver was raping her. She said she was in shock and didn’t know how to fight back. He had asked for €70 for the taxi fare, she said.
Garda sources told The Irish Times the manner in which the two young women were raped involved predatory behaviour that followed a similar modus operandi, strongly suggesting it had been repeated even before he attacked the first of the two women who made complaints about him.
The same sources also pointed out the extreme nature of the sexual violence was highly indicative of an experienced attacker, rather than a criminal who had attacked just two women and been caught. The fact Shorten had also attacked a child over a decade ago also strongly suggested there was a pattern of other sexual offending, against both girls and women, over a long period of time.
Meanwhile, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) has said that the sentencing of Shorten should bring hope to victims of sexual violence that the “most heinous crime will be punished by lengthy imprisonment”.
Rachel Morrogh, chief executive of the DRCC, hopes the trend of substantial sentences for sexual crimes continues, and that it will encourage more victims to come forward while also sending a message of zero tolerance to perpetrators.
She said Shorten abused the trust placed in him by two young women and took advantage of the fact they were vulnerable before compounding the trauma caused by denying all charges and attempting to discredit his victims.
“Sadly, this country is not yet at a point where the elimination of sexual violence is in sight. Until that day comes, sexual crimes must be punished severely and that was certainly the case today,” she said.
Dr Clíona Saidlear, executive director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland, the umbrella body for the 17 centres across Ireland, described it as an example of “good sentencing” due to its length and consecutive nature.
She said it understands the impact of “predator behaviour” and the risk that Shorten poses.
This is amid historically lenient sentences handed down, she said, which often protect the livelihoods of perpetrators rather than taking the risk they pose into account.
Dr Saidlear added the “unfortunate truth” is that all modes taken by women to return home come with risk.
“There have always been cases like this that obviously put people in fear but there are also cases where people were walking home, getting the bus or going home with a friend,” she said.
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