A DUBLIN TAXI driver, who subjected a female passenger to “interrogation” by repeatedly asking if she was single or lived alone and saying she looked “sexy”, has not been given a criminal conviction.

Lucas Bittencourt, 39, of Upper Dominic Street, Dublin, was prosecuted by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and pleaded guilty last March to using obscene and offensive language toward a passenger in Dublin on 14 May 2023.

The case heard at Dublin District Court was adjourned until today when Judge Anthony Halpin noted the accused had complied with his order to pay €1,600 compensation to the passenger and another €400 toward prosecution costs.

The taxi regulator solicitor, Jason Teahan, confirmed the money had come through, and Judge Halpin applied the Probation of Offenders Act.

The court had heard that the woman reported that she flagged down the taxi in the city centre and asked to be brought to Northwood, Dublin 9. While seated in the back she “chatted generally” with Bittencourt who told her he was Brazilian.

But the conversation became “a bit more personal” before they arrived at the destination, as Bittencourt began asking if the passenger lived alone. 

When he reached her destination, he unbuckled his seat, turned and said: “I thought you were single. Do you live alone?”

He repeated it a number of times. A court heart the woman was “taken aback” and felt “a bit uncomfortable” by the questioning.

NTA’s solicitor, Teahan, told the judge that Bittencourt, who has no previous convictions, then said: “I didn’t get a good look at you.”

He put the light on in the car and told her: “You look good; you look sexy.”

At this stage, the woman felt “very uncomfortable”, asked to pay the fare and left the taxi. She complained to NTA officer Anthony Carey, who questioned Bittencourt.

A court heard Bittencourt denied the allegations following the complaint. He told the NTA he was sorry for any offence caused, but claimed he could not recall the specifics of the trip.

The woman could identify the driver because she paid using the Revolut app, which had a picture of him. She came to the hearing last year but was not required to give evidence, due to Bittencourt’s guilty plea.

Defence counsel Patrick Jackson said his client came to Ireland in 2005 and has been a taxi driver for 15 years with a completely unblemished record and generally sent his earnings home.

The barrister was instructed to fully apologise on his client’s behalf for the language used and any inappropriateness. Counsel explained that the accused, who did not address the court, had to turn around in the car because it was a Revolut payment.

Jackson submitted that the guilty plea was valuable because there could have been several technical issues. He urged the judge to consider sparing his client a recorded conviction.

He said: “Any inappropriate behaviour was completely out of character.”

Although the offence does not carry a jail sentence, it could result in a maximum fine of €2,500 and the possibility of a criminal record.

Judge Halpin had deemed it a serious case.

He said: “It trespassed upon the injured party’s rights. In particular, her right to safe passage without being subjected to interrogation about personal matters of a very sensitive and private nature.”

He noted that it happened at the end of the journey, which he considered a mitigating factor.

However, he said the driver had a “statutory duty to respect his customers and ought not place them in a situation in which they feel uncomfortable or where they feel unsafe”.

To consider the Probation Offenders Act, he required a contribution toward the NTA’s cost and €1,600 for the victim as redress for the harm she experienced.

The judge said: “This court takes that very seriously.”

The defence had then said that the taxi man agreed to pay but needed some time.

Judge Halpin had also emphasised that if Bittencourt were convicted following a contested hearing, the penalty could have been more severe and he may have lost the right to drive a taxi.

The NTA withdrew a second count for acting in an offensive manner toward the woman on the same date. The charges were contrary to the Taxi Regulation Act.