Former PNE footballer turned taxi driver Michael Keane jailed for sexually assaulting student passenger

The 42-year-old Irishman began his career at North End in 2000, where he was part of the youth team under David Moyes, before signing as a professional and earning 57 appearances for the club before leaving in 2004.

He retired in 2008 and returned to Ireland in 2015, where he worked as a taxi driver around Dublin for the last six years.

In November 2023, a 20-year-old student reported she had been sexually assaulted by a taxi driver. She managed to fight him off by punching him in the face, and demanded to be taken home.

After he dropped her off, he demanded his victim pay a fare of €77.77, which she did to get away from him.

The terrified woman had texted a friend after the assault, who was waiting for her when she got back and took a photo of the taxi and Keane.

In February 2024, Keane was identified as the driver and arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

He was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court this week where he was jailed for two and a half years.

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What happened?

During his trial, it was heard his victim had been socialising with friends and had taken some drinks. She decided to get a taxi from Dublin city centre where she was picked up by Keane.

At some point in the journey, she realised the taxi had “significantly detoured” as Keane drove her to an isolated spot at Bull Island, where he climbed into the back of his cab and sexually assaulted her.

Keane initially denied the allegation when interviewed by police, claiming the taxi detoured to Bull Island because the woman was looking for a party, but he later pleaded guilty.

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Keane has two previous convictions from the UK for theft and assault causing actual bodily harm, which date back to 2007.