A CO DONEGAL taxi driver has been jailed for sexual assaulting an 18-year-old woman in his cab.

Paul Bryan, 63, of Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was sentenced today at Derry Crown Court for sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault.

Bryan was sentenced to four years – two years in custody and two years on licence.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years, as well as being subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Judge Neil Rafferty told the court that on 22 October 2017, the woman had gone to Letterkenny with friends and had consumed alcohol.

She then became separated from her friends and was trying to get a taxi back home to Derry.

The woman flagged down a taxi and was seen by several witnesses entering Bryan’s vehicle.

During the journey, Bryan sexually assaulted the woman.

In his first interview with police, Bryan said the sexual activity had been consensual, but he later admitted to the offences.

Judge Rafferty said Bryan he had taken advantage of the young woman who was “extremely vulnerable due to her age and alcohol”.

The PSNI’s Detective Constable Buchanan said Bryan “took advantage of a vulnerable young woman who became separated from her friends, when she was trying to get home safely in his taxi”.

Buchanan said it was a “complex investigation” and he thanked colleagues at An Garda Síochána “for their efforts and support with this case”.

“I would also like to commend the survivor in this case for her bravery in reporting this incident to Police,” said Buchanan.

He also remarked that the PSNI “takes all reports of sexual assault seriously, and we urge anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report it, regardless of where, or when it happened, safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect and dignity”.