At the beginning of the sentencing of taxi driver and convicted rapist Raymond Shorten, Mr Justice Paul McDermott, the presiding judge in the Central Criminal Court, made remarks about the position of women in society, the threats of violence faced by them, and their expectations of being able to get home safely.
Here are his opening remarks in full:
"Violence against women in our society and the steps which they are encouraged to take or forced to take as a matter of course to avoid it or minimise its risk, reflects the 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.
"It indicates an underlying unhealthy attitude towards women and their fundamental rights in any society, if their sense of freedom and security in doing normal things is so compromised.
"It is a poor reflection on the level of security and safety of women in our society who go out for an evening that the best advice on getting home safely and without fear of violent attack by a male, or without unwanted attention is not to get a bus or walk home alone - they should of course be able to do so without fear of interference from men.
"The remaining option - to get a taxi - is of course a reasonable one. It reflects and depends upon the level of trust placed by society in the taxi service available in this city and throughout the country.
"There are of course many stories of great kindness and helpfulness given on a daily basis by our taxi drivers to their customers or others for whom this particular driver's behaviour would be regarded as a gross betrayal of that high standard of service and professionalism.
"That is one of the reasons why this particular case resonates so much with people who rely on that trust and support for themselves and their family members when hailing or advising others to take taxi at all hours of the day of night and why it resonates with the court, and breach of that trust is clearly to be regarded as an aggravating feature of the offences committed in this case."
This morning, Raymond Shorten was given a 17-year sentence for the rape of two women on separate occasions in 2022.
This sentence is to be served consecutively to a 13-year prison sentence which he was given earlier this week for the rape and sexual assault of a then seven-year-old girl.
Combined, the sentences mean that he will spend a total of 30 years in prison.
