A Dublin taxi driver has been jailed for four years for sexually assaulting a woman in his cab on her way home from a Christmas night out.
Gerard Gunnery Senior, of Ellenfield Road, Whitehall, Dublin, initially denied attacking her while she slept by claiming it was consensual.
Gerard Gunnery was arrested thanks to the quick-thinking actions of the woman.
She told gardaí she passed out in the front passenger seat of his taxi as he was taking her home after a night out with her friends in the run up to Christmas 2017.
When she awoke, she said he had reached over and was sexually assaulting her with his hand while he performed a sex act on himself.
He claimed she was the one who instigated it and insisted it was consensual.
She denied that was the case, and told gardaí how he dragged her out of the car while she desperately searched for his details on the dash of the taxi.
Undeterred, she managed to take a photo of his reg as he sped away.
Gunnery, a 60yr married father of six with grandchildren, eventually admitted what he did on the day the case was listed for trial. He was jailed for four years today.
Before she left court, Judge Karen O’Connor commended the woman for her bravery on the night and throughout the whole process.
