A TAXI driver convicted of sexually assaulting one of his customers in his vehicle, minutes after picking her up from her house, has been ordered to pay £400 compensation to his victim.

Brian Maguire (48), of Drumcor Hill, Enniskillen, had strenuously denied that he had grabbed the right breast of the woman, who cannot be named to protect her identity, on the morning of October 22, 2016.

During a contested hearing at Fermanagh Magistrates Court at the end of March, he insisted that his left hand may have brushed her shoulder, but claimed that any contact had been accidental.

However, after listening to the evidence in the case, district judge, Amanda Brady, observed that she accepted the victim’s version of events as the truth and convicted the defendant of sexual assault. “Clearly something happened in the taxi that upset her,” she said.

Ms. Brady further observed that she was satisfied the touching had been sexual in nature and the woman had not consented.

The judge then adjourned the case for five weeks to allow for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

At his sentencing hearing last Wednesday, the newly-appointed district judge for Fermanagh Magistrates Court, Michael Ranaghan, followed the recommendation of the report, which deemed the defendant to be a suitable person to perform unpaid work.

The judge imposed an 80-hour Community Service Order on Maguire, and also ordered him to pay £400 compensation to his victim.