Taxi Driver Sentenced for Rape and Abandonment in Sub-Zero Conditions
A taxi driver who sexually assaulted an 18-year-old female passenger in a lay-by before leaving her in freezing temperatures has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison.
David Brown, aged 50, collected the teenager in December 2023 after she had been out in Inverness and wished to return to her Highland village. Instead of taking her directly home, Brown drove past her destination and stopped in a lay-by near a farm located between Strathpeffer and Dingwall, where he committed the sexual assault. He subsequently left her in Dingwall.
Details of the Assault and Trial
During the trial, the victim provided pre-recorded evidence describing how Brown had agreed to take her home despite her insufficient fare. Contrary to this agreement, Brown diverted to a rural area in Ross-shire, where he stopped the vehicle.
While at the lay-by, Brown groped the victim and sexually assaulted her, forcing her to perform a sex act. Following the incident, the victim contacted the police, who successfully located Brown. Investigators collected sufficient evidence to prosecute him.
Data retrieved from Brown's vehicle tracker confirmed the route he took to the remote location on 3 December 2023.
Abandonment in Freezing Weather
Lord Renucci, presiding over the case, noted that Brown abandoned the teenager in Dingwall during the early morning hours, despite temperatures being as low as -4°C.
A Tesco employee in Dingwall noticed the distressed girl, showed compassion, and allowed her to enter the store to escape the cold.
"When she got into your taxi that night, she was entitled to think you would perform the function you had been engaged to – that of delivering her safely to her own home, which was some distance away.
Instead you drove on, past the area where she lived, and took her to Dingwall where, as we know from the tracker system of your car, you drove about the town and the outskirts before stopping at a secluded and remote lay-by near a farm.
It was in that lay-by that you then raped her. She was only 18. You were significantly older, being at the time 47.
This must have been a terrifying ordeal for your victim, who was undoubtedly in a vulnerable condition due to her inebriation – which you took advantage of for your own sexual gratification."
Brown, who resides in Croy near Inverness, appeared for sentencing via prison video link at the High Court in Stirling. He had denied the rape charge, asserting the sexual encounter was consensual, but a jury found him guilty after a three-day trial in Edinburgh the previous month.
His defense lawyer, Bill Adam, stated that Brown maintained his version of events. However, Lord Renucci remarked:
"[This was] a version of events that was rejected by the jury."
Brown showed no visible reaction as the sentence was delivered.
In addition to the prison term, Brown was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.
