Taxi driver who raped a 19-year-old customer at 8-M in Santiago sentenced to 10 years in prison

According to the sentence dated July 29, 2022, the events occurred at dawn on March 8, 2018, more than four years ago. The young woman got into the back of the taxi where the man, who was convicted at the time, was working. 43 years old, in the city center.

The judges said that the man had changed course when he reached the Galeras area, “taking advantage of the fact that he had fallen asleep during the journey that took only five minutes” and “The tool has disconnected the finder.”

He then drove, according to the proven account, to “an obscure area on the outskirts of the city, dark, devoid of artificial lighting, and with no houses nearby in sight”. In addition to these conditions, the man also used the fact that he had previously taken the victim’s phone from the back seat to get out of the vehicle, get into the back of the vehicle and commit sexual assault.

Then, the court underlines, young woman “paralyzed by her state of terror” He is faced with the impossibility of asking for help and the fear that something will happen to him”.

Later, the accused “had the opportunity to put on a condom and penetrate vaginally against the young woman’s will, before that the woman began to cry, asking her to stop.”

Finally, the taxi driver returned to the driver’s seat, handed back his cell phone, and drove to the house of the young woman who was “crying” along the way. When he got home, the girl called a friend and asked him to come after she told him about the rape.

The victim became “paralyzed”

The judges stated in the sentence that it was not only non-consensual sexual intercourse, but also “perpetrated through intimidation used by the accused”taking advantage of the conditions sought to create in the victim a state of terror that leaves him paralyzed and unresponsive”.

In addition, they stress the veracity of the victim’s statement, as he described what happened on the morning of March 8, 2018, “persistently, convincingly and without contradictions” throughout the entire procedure.

“The description of the facts he has made is not only coherent and consistent, but also agrees with all other media,” adding that the victim’s version is true. It was confirmed by “the testimonies of those who were with him immediately after the events, the physical wounds he presented, and the psychic footprint.” reflected in the report of a psychologist. It also matches the data of the route the taxi took that night.

The defendant, on the other hand, argued during the hearing that the sexual relationship was based on consent and that the young woman had offered it. However, the judges stress that their version is “pretty incredible” and “offers very fictional features indeed”.

“Not only has he been inconsistent and unbelievable, but his story is tentatively incompatible with the data objectified in the case,” they insist.

Similarly, Court magistrates specifically criticize the convicted person’s “performing a public service such as a taxi”. It creates a feeling of safety and security, especially for those who use it at night.“.

In this connection, the court understood that the ten-year sentence demanded by the charges was appropriate. “especially serious” “A taxi driver picks up a 19-year-old girl at dawn and takes advantage of her falling asleep to a dark and desolate place, where she has no chance to seek help or escape, at the mercy of the attacker, fearing that this may cause the victim to commit any act of violence without ruling out an attack on her own life. “.

It likewise confirms that the severe psychic damage done to the young woman was “more than proven”, as well as the change in her living habits.

For all of the above, the magistrates sentenced the man to a sentence. 10 years in prison and eight years on probation compensation for the crime of sexual assault, and 20 thousand euro compensation for young people. He also placed a 15-year ban from approaching and communicating with him.

They also understand that the owner of the taxi—who has been his employee for many years—must pay the same amount of compensation as he paid the victim. secondary civil liability.