A LIMERICK taxi driver has been convicted of raping a passenger as he drove her home.
John Ryan (43), Clonard, Westbury, was found guilty by a jury after 10 hours of deliberation over three days at the Central Criminal Court.
He had pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault of the woman on October 17th, 2007, after picking her up in his cab a short distance from a Limerick nightclub.
The jury of eight men and four women returned majority verdicts on both counts.
Ryan left the meter running during the incident and gardaí were able to track him down using the receipt the woman grabbed before leaving the car.
Ryan drove his 21-year-old victim to a "quiet place" 20 minutes from where he picked her up. He told her to take off her clothes before he removed his and raped her.
He then put his head between her legs and sexually assaulted her.
When he got off her the woman tried to take a photo of him on her phone but he snatched it off her before she could. He then returned it and drove her to her apartment.
Before she got out she noticed the fare on the cab's meter had gone up to about €40 but Ryan did not ask for money.
She grabbed the receipt before getting out and texted her friend about the rape.
During the seven-day trial, the court heard Ryan had claimed the woman initiated sex by rubbing his groin during the journey. He also claimed he had a medical condition which meant that he could not have sex.
He had told gardaí the girl became angry at him after the incident when she saw his wedding ring and said, "You're married, you bastard".
He also commented to gardaí that "the sickening thing is I was nice to her".
Mr Justice Peter Charlton thanked the jurors for their time and excused them from further service for 10 years.
He ordered that Ryan be put on the sex offenders register and remanded him in custody until sentencing next month.
Thomas Creed SC, prosecuting, asked for a victim impact report and Conor Devally SC, defending, requested that a probation report be prepared for Ryan.