A TAXI driver has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage college student in Limerick in 2011 after she fell asleep in the front seat of the car. This Thursday, the jury returned a majority verdict of 11 to one convicting Bengal born, Abdul Mannan (39), of Rhebogue Meadows, Limerick, of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old first year Mary Immaculate College student after she left a city bar to get a taxi home on February 7, 2011.
The jury of nine men and three women heard evidence from the injured party that she had been out socialising with friends and left the city bar they had been in shortly after 11pm.
Having consumed a number of drinks earlier in the night, the woman said that she left the venue as she “just wanted to go home”.
“I got into the first taxi I saw and said to bring me home to ‘City Campus'”, said the girl who is 21 now as she referred to the student accomodation on Lord Edward Street.
The woman said that she fell asleep in the front seat shortly after she got into the taxi and when she woke, the woman said that the man had two of his fingers in her vagina.
Denying the charge, Mr Mannan, the court heard, turned pale and fainted momentarily, when the gardai arrived to his home a few hours after the alleged incident.
Under arrest at Roxboro Road Garda Station, evidence was submitted that Mr Mannan said in interview that he picked up the student outside the city centre bar and he heard her say to go to Castletroy.
Mr Mannan said that once in Castletroy, he woke the girl by asking her where to go from there. He alleges that the teenage student became irate and verbally abused him before pushing the side of his head and shouting “fuck you you fucking foreigner, you don’t know how to drive a taxi”.
He further claimed, that the girl twice requested him to have sex with her after she took a condom from her handbag. He added that after refusing the girl, she then demanded; “if you can not make sex, you have to put your fingers in my vagina”, but again he said that he refused.
However, the jury heard that Mr Mannan later said that he did put his fingers in the girl’s vagina but only did so out of fear as he claimed she said that there would “have problems in City Campus”. if he didn’t.
In cross examination, the student, now in her third year, denied that she ever demanded sex from the taxi driver because he “took a wrong turn”. She said that she was shocked and very upset at what had happened and she made a complaint to gardai immediately.
The fourth-year student denied that she gave Mr Mannan consent to touch her in that way.
Michael Fitzgibbon, defence counsel for the accused man, said that his client was a man of “impeccable character and came before the court without any previous convictions, in this jurisdiction or any other”.
The jury was shown CCTV footage where the student was identified getting into the taxi of the accused man at 11.10pm on February 7, 2011.
In his defence, Mr Mannan, a father of two, took to the witness box and said that he has been living in Ireland with his wife for 12 years and was driving a taxi for two years. Mr Mannan said that he worked in manufacturing companies in the region.
Mr Mannan said that the woman became angry and hit him in the head during the exchange and demanded that he put her finger in after he refused to have sex with her. He admitted that he did put his fingers in for “about 30 seconds but I removed it as I knew it was wrong. I was really really nervous, but she forced me to do it.”
The court heard that Mr Mannan said that he took his taxi ID card from the dashboard as the girl asked for his name and said he would “have more problems at City Campus”.
Regarding the accusations made by the injured party, Mr Mannan said “I think she is not a good girl, if she was a good girl she would not ask me to have sex with her”.
John O’Sullivan, prosecution for the State, questioned the accused regarding his status as a taxi driver and the requirements to have his identification displayed on the dash board. It was further put to the Mr Mannan that he removed the ID because he “wanted to cover up your identity”.
Mr Mannan claimed that he thought the girl was going to “throw out his ID” and that was why he removed it. He said that he wanted to go to the gardai at Roxboro but he said that “she kept on shouting to go to City Campus, City Campus”.
“I said I would go home and go to the gardai the next day”, added Mr Mannan.
The accused man further denied, when it was put to him by Mr O’Sullivan, that he “took advantage of this sleeping girl”.
John O’Sullivan said that Mr Mannan’s version of events was “utter nonsense” and in addressing the jury druing closing speeches, Mr O’Sullivan added that the case was a matter of credibility and the evidence of the injured party was “entirely credible”.
Michael Fitzgibbon, defence counsel, said that his client always denied the claims made by the woman adding that “anything that happened in the taxi, happened at the behest of the alleged injured party”.
The jury retired to consider deliberations and in less than three hours, told Judge Carroll Moran that they had a majority verdict.
There were emotional scenes as Mr Mannan was remanded in custody pending a sentencing hearing.
The 21-year-old victim is expected to make a impact statement at the sentencing hearing.
Above: Abdul Mannan
