Utrecht taxi driver convicted of sexually abusing passengers; Jailed for 5 years
The court in Utrecht convicted a 48-year-old taxi driver from the city of raping and sexually assaulting four young women in his taxi and sentenced him to five years in prison. The court considered it an aggravating circumstance that the man abused the women in his taxi, a place where they were supposed to be safe, RTV Utrecht reported.
The crimes occurred in and around Utrecht in 2024 and 2025 as the man was driving the women home in his taxi. The taxi driver argued that the women performed the sexual acts voluntarily. According to him, they initiated the sexual contact.
The court did not believe that version of events and considered it proven that he raped one of the women, had sex with another while knowing she was “in a state of diminished consciousness,” and sexually assaulted two others.
“In a taxi, you are safe, or you should be. But in the suspect’s taxi, they were far from it,” the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said during the trial. The man left his victims still struggling with depressive feelings, trouble sleeping, and delays in their studies. They’ve also lost their sense of safety.
The OM recommended a prison sentence of nine years against the man. The court opted for a lower sentence based on similar cases. The judge also considered that this was the man’s first sex crime conviction.
In addition to spending five years in prison, the man must pay the victims nearly €29,000 in compensation total, and is banned from working as a taxi driver for eight years. He is also not allowed to try to contact the victims for five years.
