'Stuff of nightmares': Man jailed for raping woman after posing as taxi driver

Fiona Ferguson and Declan Brennan

A man who raped a woman in her own home after he had posed as a taxi driver and picked her up has been jailed for 11 years.

Costel Raducan (37) of High Street, Balbriggan, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury last month of burglary, rape and attempted anal rape at a location in Co Dublin on May 3rd, 2025.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Paul Burns said this was an extremely disturbing case where a man “posing as a taxi driver” picked up the unsuspecting victim who was out with friends and, after driving her home, stalked the house until she was alone and vulnerable.

“This is the stuff of nightmares,” the judge said.

He said after the attack the victim was left alone and in shock. Gardaí launched an “impressive investigation” which included a “large trawl” of hours of CCTV which eventually led to Raducan’s arrest, the court heard.

Denial

Raducan initially denied to gardaí that he had any interaction with the victim on the night and claimed he was at home.

As evidence connecting his car with the woman’s home was presented to him he tried to construct a narrative to fit this evidence, the judge said.

When investigators later confronted him with DNA evidence linking his semen to the crime Raducan claimed the woman had invited him into her home and consented to sex.

The Romanian national, who has lived here since 2018, continues to deny the offences and does not accept the jury verdicts.

Judge Burns said there was a significant degree of premeditation in the offending. He said there was little in the way of mitigating factors before sentencing Raducan to 12 years imprisonment.

He suspended the final year for a period of three years on condition that Raducan be of peace and good behaviour for the entire period and obey all directions of the Probation Service for three years after his release.

He ordered the sentence to be backdated from May 30th, 2025 when Raducan went into custody after his arrest.

Judge Burns commended the garda investigation as a “thorough and professional”, one which combined traditional policing with the use of modern technology.

Gardaí had trawled CCTV footage to track Raducan’s vehicle from the woman’s home back to his house.

He extended his sympathy to the victim and thanked her for helping the court to understand “the severe and serious impact” of this offending “on the life of a young woman”.

Fear and panic attacks

In her victim impact statement, the woman described how the attacks had changed her life. She said she continues to experience fear and panic attacks.

An investigating garda told Maurice Coffey, prosecuting, that the victim had been socialising with friends and afterwards they attempted to flag down a taxi.

Raducan pulled in, and they presumed it was a taxi, despite the car having no markings.

Raducan drove the group to the woman’s home and refused an offer of payment. He remained outside the house for an estimated three and a half hours.

The last of the woman’s friends left the house a little after 5am, and she fell asleep on the sofa. She awoke to an unknown male standing over her.

She told him to get out, and she ran upstairs. She thought initially he had left and took out her phone but dropped it.

Raducan pushed her face down into the pillow on the bed, then raped her before trying to anally rape her. He did not wear a condom. She was unable to move.

After the attack, she ran to the bathroom and stayed there until she heard the front door close. She ran out and locked it.

She was unable to find her phone and called a friend via Alexa. Her friend came over, and the woman disclosed she had been raped.

She later went to a garda station to make a complaint and was examined at a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit. Semen was recovered, which provided a DNA match for the accused man.

Victim impact statement

In her victim impact statement, the woman told the court how she lived in fear after being attacked in her own home.

She described the traumatic process of attending the SATU, the fear that she might have contracted a disease and the medication she had to take to prevent this.

She said her life had been turned upside down and she relied heavily on the support of friends and family.

She increased security at her home, but the postman knocking or doorbell ringing still caused panic attacks. She said she also had to take time off work, which has impacted her career progression.

She said the impact of this unprovoked and vicious attack on her in her own home will forever affect her life. She said that being viciously raped in her own home had left her traumatised and she will never feel fully safe again.

“Someday he will get out but I have to live with this for the rest of my life,” she said. “What has been taken can not be returned… I still have my voice and today I am using it.”

Garret Baker, defending, said his client continues to maintain his innocence.

He said Raducan accepted the woman and her friends confused his car for a taxi and acknowledged he never should have stopped his car.

He said his client is a father of five who has been employed as a delivery driver. He was a professional footballer with a club in Romania between 2008 and 2014.

Counsel said the separation of the family unit is having a profound impact on his client’s wife. He said his client had no prior convictions for sexual offences and asked the court to give what credit it could.

Raducan has previous convictions for theft and road traffic offences.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.