A Dublin taxi driver who raped a young girl twice when she was aged seven or eight has been jailed for a total term of 13 years.
Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo imposed the sentence on Monday on Raymond Shorten following his conviction of two counts of vaginal rape and one count of sexual assault of the child.
Now aged 20, the young woman was in court for the sentencing.
Mr Justice Naidoo said the fact Shorten raped the child on the day of her mother’s funeral showed he had no compassion for her and “could not care less” about the hurt and damage he was inflicting on her.
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These were “very serious” offences involving a vulnerable child and a breach of trust by Shorten, who was an older man know to the girl’s family, he said. The fact they were committed in places where the child should have felt safe was another aggravating factor.
Overall, there was little mitigation in relation to Shorten, he said.
He decided a 14 year sentence was the appropriate headline sentence for the rapes and a four year sentence the headline for the sexual assault. He reduced the headline terms by one year, making an effective 13 year sentence.
Shorten is to be sentenced for other offences but those were not a factor in his own sentencing decision, the judge noted. The other sentencing judge would consider rehabilitation issues when determining the other sentences, he said.
Shorten (50), from Melrose Crescent, Dublin 22, faces a separate sentencing decision on Thursday for the rapes of two young women in his vehicle on separate dates in summer 2022. He has been in custody since August 2022 and that will be taken into account in relation to the effective 13 year term imposed.
Mr Justice Naidoo said it would be for the other sentencing judge to address
At earlier sentencing hearings, senior counsel Geraldine Small for the DPP submitted a headline sentence of 10-15 years should apply to all three cases.
Earlier this month, Mr Justice Naidoo heard a victim impact statement from a young woman who was aged seven or eight when raped by Shorten, who was known to her family.
The first rape occurred in the child’s home more than ten years ago, just days after her mother’s death. Shorten, aged 37 or 38 at the time, laid the girl down on the floor of a bathroom and raped her.
The second rape happened in the bedroom of a family member when the girl found herself alone with Shorten. A third offence, of sexual assault, occurred in his vehicle.
A Garda investigation began after the girl left a handwritten note on her grandmother’s pillow in late 2020 about what Shorten had done. Shorten, who denied the charges, was convicted in May.
At a sentencing hearing earlier this month, Ms Small said the DPP believed the offences fell into the more serious category and merited a headline sentence of 10-15 years.
Aggravating factors included the girl’s age, Shorten’s position of trust, the fact her mother had died just a few days earlier and because the abuse occurred in places that should have been “sanctuaries” for her, counsel said.
In a victim impact statement, the girl said her mother died when she was seven and Shorten’s abuse of her started right after that. She had never really liked Shorten, he always “creeped me out”.
Following the rapes, she had sleep difficulties and would, and still does, sleep with her teddy bears in an effort to sleep better. She experienced strong emotional outbursts, screaming, shouting, hitting walls. “I just wanted to get my anger out.”
She later used substances to escape the pain, began self-harming, experienced panic attacks, had suicidal thoughts and made some attempts to take her own life.
Her life has been seriously impacted in many ways by the abuse, she said. She had been protected by her grandmother but should also have been protected by Shorten. “He should not have abused me.”
Shorten’s counsel Lorcan Staines said Shorten is a father of seven who had worked all his life, had lost his marriage and his relationship and was in custody since August 2022. Shorten does not accept responsibility for the offences of which he was convicted, counsel said.
Shorten was separately found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court last month of the rape and anal rape of a 19-year-old woman on June 26th 2022, and of the separate rape of a second woman, then aged 20, a couple of months later, on August 9th 2022. He denied all the charges.
The prosecution case was that each woman found themselves in a taxi after a night out socialising in Dublin city centre where each was raped by the driver, Shorten.
In a victim impact statement, the 20-year-old woman said she got a taxi home “to be safe” but experienced a “nightmare” and continues to suffer anxiety and trust issues,
The second woman said she was a 19-year-old virgin when raped by Shorten.
“I still don’t know what to say: it’s shocking that this even happened in the first place, that a predator like this didn’t just get me but he raped another.”
The DPP submitted to the trial judge, Mr Justice Paul McDermott, that a headline sentence of 10-15 years was appropriate in each of the two cases.
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