52-year-old Mathew Ibenye, of Doughiska, was charged under Section 6 of the Public Order Act with breaching the peace when he made lewd comments to a female passenger on July 18th, 2019.
The woman, originally from Poland, had hailed Ibenye's taxi outside a city pub at approximately 2am and asked him to drive her to her home in Knocknacarra. Ibenye is said to have suggested they have drinks at her home. He made references to his genitals and told her he thought Polish women were very sexy. Feeling endangered, the woman asked him to stop at a petrol station, where she alighted and took a photo of his taxi number before seeking help from staff.
Last November Ibenye was convicted and fined €500 in the District Court. On appeal at the Circuit Court last week the conviction was overturned by Judge Rory McCabe, who said he believed the woman but was not satisfied that the evidence presented by the prosecution fell under the definition of Section 6 of the Public Order Act that “It shall be an offence for any person in a public place to use or engage in any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace may be occasioned."
