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Taxi driver who asked passenger for kiss in exchange for fare change guilty of sexual assault

Abi Francis (43) had denied asking the woman for a kiss and had denied kissing her.

Today at 06:40

A taxi driver who demanded a young female passenger give him a kiss in exchange for change for a fare has been found guilty of sexual assault.

Abi Francis (43) had denied asking the woman for a kiss and had denied kissing her.

The victim said Francis was not violent, but his behaviour was unwanted and she felt she had to go along with it just to get out of the taxi safely.

Judge David McHugh gave him a four-month sentence, suspended for two years.

The defendant, of Glenaulin Green in Palmerstown, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the young woman after he drove her home on July 11, 2020.

The woman told Blanchardstown District Court she had gone out for dinner with a few friends and they had ordered a taxi at around 12.30am.

The woman, who is in her 20s, said she and her two friends were in the back of the taxi, and her friends were dropped home first.

She asked the taxi driver if she could pay with her phone, but was told she could not, so she asked him to stop at a garage so she could get cash.

When she returned to the taxi, the woman said Francis asked her to get into the front seat, which she did, as it was only a few minutes home.

She said there was general chit-chat. Francis asked if she was in college, and she offered him some chocolate.

The victim said Francis pulled up outside her house and she handed him €50 for a €25 fare.

She said Francis asked for a kiss in exchange for her change. She said ‘no’, but he asked again, so she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

She asked for the change again, and Francis then took her face and kissed her again.

At this stage, she just got out of the taxi, and the change was given to her, though she did not know how or when.

The woman said she did not want to kiss Francis, but felt she had to go along with it for her own safety.

In his evidence, Francis denied he held the passenger’s face and kissed her. He said he “didn’t do anything wrong”, and said what the passenger had alleged had not happened.

He also denied he said he would give her back the change in exchange for a kiss.

Finding Francis guilty, Judge McHugh said the victim had given clear and compelling evidence, while Francis had been “woolly in the extreme”.

Defence solicitor Mervyn Hartnett said Francis was married with two children.

He previously worked for the NCT service and had also been working part-time as a taxi driver at the time of this incident.