Taxi driver raped woman in his cab as he drove her home
A taxi driver raped a passenger in the back of his cab as he drove her home, a court has heard. Anthony Marcus Jones picked up the woman after she had been out for the night and assaulted her in a car park.
Jones denied rape and claimed the pair had had consensual sex. But the 43-year-old was convicted following a trial at Swansea Crown Court with a judge telling him he had treated his victim "like a piece of meat for you to use sexually as you wished". The court heard the cabbie has a previous caution for assaulting a woman, and the judge said he did not think Jones should have been working as a taxi driver at all with that background.
It was the third time the case had gone to trial with the first two having collapsed because of failures in the disclosure of evidence and a senior police officer is now going to have to appear before the court to explain what happened.
The court heard the attack took place in Pembrokeshire the early hours of the morning in April 2018. The victim had spent the night in pubs in Milford Haven and was extremely drunk, the court was told. Jones collected the woman in his cab and raped her after parking the vehicle in a car park. He maintained the sex had been consensual.
In an impact statement read to court the victim said she felt her life has been "falling apart" since the attack. She said she was left feeling "ashamed" of herself, adding: "Every day is a struggle. I feel I am constantly fighting against something."
Jones, of Hawthorn Path, Mount Estate, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, was convicted of rape. Judge Paul Thomas QC told the defendant it must have been apparent to him how intoxicated his fare was and he had "cynically and callously" taken advantage of her.
He told the driver he had treated the woman "like a piece of meat for use to use sexually as you wished" and said he had had sex with her when "she was at best semi-conscious" and unaware of what was going on.
The judge said with Jones having a previous caution for assaulting a woman he ought not to have been working as a taxi driver.
Jones was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will serve two-thirds of that period before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
The judge said he was conscious of the fact that the attack took place three years ago and described the delay as "inexcusable". He said issues with disclosure of evidence had led to two previous trials collapsing and he would require a senior officer in the case to appear before him to explain what had happened.
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