‘During police interviews the taxi driver claimed nothing had happened.
A TAXI driver who sexually molested a teenage schoolgirl after telling her she had “nice legs” has been jailed for a year. As well as ordering William Torbitt (39) to spend two years on supervised licence conditions, Belfast Crown Court Judge Gordon Kerr QC also ordered him to sign the the police sex register for the rest of his life.
The judge had earlier heard how Torbitt collected the girl from her school on February 13 and was taking her to a medical appointment when the incident happened. Rosemary Walsh, prosecuting, recounted how Torbitt told the girl she “must do PE because you have nice legs” and then he asked her to move her blazer so that he could see them. He then reached over and touched the girl. Torbitt, from Mayfield Heights in Newtownabbey, had also twice asked the girl what age she was told twice that she was 14. Following the attack Torbitt took the girl to her appointment where she reported what happened. Torbitt was then arrested later that day. During police iinterviews the taxi driver claimed nothing had happened, maintain that stance even when DNA evidence of the girl’s DNA profile was uncovered under his finger nails and that was put to him. However, he later pleaded guilty to a single charge of sexual activity with a child. A defence lawyer said the married father-of-two had suffered a a “moment of madness” for which he was already paying a heavy price in terms of the loss of his reputation, job, liberty and marriage.
With many thanks to : Irish News.
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