A 40-year-old taxi driver has been convicted of rape and sexual misconduct against a female passenger, as well as additional counts of sexual misconduct against two other women. The court sentenced him to five months in prison and revoked his taxi license for three years.

The primary incident occurred during a taxi ride from Copenhagen to Holbæk on January 13 of this year. The female passenger, who was reportedly very intoxicated during the ride, recounted in court that she was unable to resist the situation. She described herself as half-asleep in the passenger seat and feeling paralyzed.

“I was aware of what was happening, but I couldn’t register it. I was paralyzed. I was just so drunk,” she explained in court.

Surveillance footage from the taxi revealed that the driver held the woman’s hand to comfort her when she was upset and had vomited. However, he then began to intertwine his fingers with hers, which she found to be invasive. He later moved her hand to his lap.

“If I hadn’t been drunk, I could have said no and asked, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ But I couldn’t,” she stated during the court proceedings.

Upon arriving at the woman’s home in Holbæk, the driver asked to use her bathroom. He made an advance toward a more sexual interaction, but the woman changed into her nightwear and went to bed, at which point the driver left the premises.

The 40-year-old taxi driver has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, claiming that he interpreted the woman’s signals differently. He appealed the conviction immediately after the ruling.