Sexual assault victim says attacker showed ‘no remorse’

A young woman who was sexually assaulted by a taxi driver as she returned home from a night on the town said she felt “no remorse” when she faced her attacker in court.

Chloe, who was 18 at the time of the attack in 2017, was picked up by Paul Bryan in his taxi in Letterkenny, County Donegal, after she became separated from her friends.

Bryan, 63, from Newtowncunningham, County Donegal, admitted two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to four years in prison, two of them suspended, by Londonderry Magistrates Court last week.

Chloe, from Derry, told BBC News NI that there needed to be tougher penalties for sex offenders.

When the verdict was announced, there was “not a single apology, not the slightest trace of remorse,” said Chloe.

She said she decided to speak publicly as a survivor and hoped that others who had experienced the same trauma would also speak out.

“It completely changed my life,” she said.

“I didn't leave my house for a few years after the attack because I was scared to death… now I'm trying to learn that not everyone has pain in their heart because of other people.

“It was very hard.”

Chloe added: “Life has changed. I have become stronger, the woman I want to be and am committed to making a change.”

“But as far as the victim role goes: I'm still sitting in the taxi that night, nothing has changed.”

Chloe described the verdict against her attacker as “a joke”.

“He has to go to prison for two years. I waited three times as long, waiting to see what would happen. For seven years I was labelled as an alleged victim.”

The office of Lady Chief Justice (LCJ) Dame Siobhan Keegan, Northern Ireland's most senior judge, said in a statement: “The sentence imposed will depend on the specific circumstances of each case and many different factors will be taken into account.”

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it recognised that “all parts of the criminal justice system can progress slowly due to a variety of cross-system factors”.

It said it was “currently reviewing” whether there was a basis for referring the Bryan ruling to the Court of Appeal for review.

Chloe said she couldn't remember the entire assault by Bryan.

“I remember trying to get home. I was scared. I remember waking up and Bryan was standing over me for about three or four seconds,” she said.

“Sometimes you think about just going to sleep to escape from everything. I can't escape anything when I sleep. I still remember and feel what happened.”

“Nobody deserves to live the life I have”

On the night of the attack, it was her mother who first called the police.

She was taken to Northern Ireland's only rape crisis centre in Belfast, 120 kilometres from her home.

Chloe said: “I remember how lonely I was. In a room with a coffee machine, and I was expected to wait while they went through my story. It felt like they wanted to make sure my story was coherent, even though I was the one at this center for rape victims.”

Chloe said video footage passed by An Garda Síóchána (Irish police) to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) showed him “dragging her along”.

Chloe added that she had never seen the footage because she found it too traumatic.

“I didn't know what he looked like for seven years and then when I saw him, everything was confirmed,” she added.

Chloe said she never gave up in her pursuit of justice, calling police and constantly checking for updates on the case.

“It's only because I don't want to let this happen to anyone else that I put so much pressure on myself.

“Nobody deserves to live the life I was left with,” she said.

“I wanted to stand there and look at him”

Last week she faced her attacker in court, where Bryan admitted his guilt.

“I wanted to stand there and look at him,” Chloe said.

“I did everything legally, fairly and without hatred.” That day he could only hold his head together in shame.

“I was shaking throughout the trial. It was important that my face was the last thing he saw because for seven years his taxi was the last thing I saw in my mind. His face was blocked out, but I remember everything.”

The LCJ statement said that in calculating the appropriate sentence for a particular offence, the judge will take into account all the evidence presented to the court.

Relevant laws and case law will also be taken into account, including the maximum penalty that the court can impose, any sentencing guidelines relevant to the offence committed, whether the offender has pleaded guilty, the degree of culpability, any previous convictions of the offender and any other aggravating or mitigating circumstances presented to the court by the prosecution and the defence.

The court may also consider other evidence, such as a victim's statement, medical reports and a pre-sentence report, the LCJ said.

The PPS stated that “at no time in this case was there any unreasonable delay by the PPS” and that “sentencing was a matter for the trial judge”.

If you are affected by any of the issues described in this story, you can get help and support at BBC Action Line.