17-year sentence for taxi driver leaves rapist Raymond Shorten in jail for 30 years

The judge said said the case reflects the 'unhappy reality' that women 'too often become the subject of sexual or other forms of physical violence, or the threat of it, when they go out to simply enjoy themselves'

Dublin taxi driver Raymond Shorten 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.

A judge has said it is a “poor reflection” on the safety of women in society that the best advice for them to get home safely “without the fear of violent attack” after a night out is not get the bus or walk home alone, but to get a taxi.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott made the comments while imposing a 17-year sentence on Raymond Shorten (50) for 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 9.