A bus driver sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl who fell asleep on the last trip home

A bus driver sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl who fell asleep in the home of the last service.

Damien Doyle, 48, offered the girl a lift when she was stranded late at night penniless at a depot in St Helens, Merseyside.

He even told the victim that he had a daughter his age and “would hate her to be in that situation.”

But instead he took the opportunity to lock her in his car and take advantage of her after remarking: ‘I bet you’re really horny when you’re drunk.’

The trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard that the teenage victim traveled by bus from Queen Square in Liverpool city center to St Helens in September 2022 but fell asleep on the journey.

She then woke up at the depot to find that there were no more services that evening.

Steven Ball, prosecuting, described how the girl had no cash on her and did not want to call her parents to collect her because she was “worried they would go crazy”.

But she saw Doyle outside when he returned to his car after his shift and approached it.

As a result, the defendant offered her a ride home, telling her that he had a daughter her age and “would hate for her to be in that situation.”

But once he was in the car, the armed forces veteran put his hand on hers and said: “Oh my God. You’re freezing. I’ll warm you up.’

Doyle, who had worked as a bus driver for 15 years, went on to ask her if she had a boyfriend, complimented her and “entwined his arms with her”.

He also told her: ‘I bet you’ll be really horny when you’re drunk, I could take us to the beach right now.’

The father then locked the door of his vehicle, placed his hand on the victim’s leg and began stroking her inner thigh while still driving as he turned towards Kirkby.

However, the “terrified” teenager told him there had been a “change of plan” and said her boyfriend would pick her up.

Doyle then let her out of the car and she hid in the bushes before being picked up.

In a statement read to the court on her behalf, the victim said: “I felt so vulnerable in that moment with someone I thought I could trust.

“When he suggested going to the beach, my heart sank. I started thinking about stories about horrible things that happen to girls and sometimes they end up dead.

“The feel of his hand rubbing the inside of my thigh is a feeling I don’t think I’ll ever forget. He has no empathy for how I felt that night, no guilt for his actions, and no self-confidence for his inappropriate behavior.”

Doyle’s previous convictions include counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 1996 and 2008, but no sexual offences.

Carmel Wilde, mitigating, told the court: “He denies the offence. His partner sits at the back of the court and was there throughout the proceedings. She knows his better side and stands by him.

“He hasn’t been in trouble for a while. There has been nothing since 2008. He previously served in the armed forces with an exemplary reputation. He was always at work and he works hard.

“It was an opportunistic attack. It wasn’t something he went looking for young girls. The complainant said very eloquently that she did not want this man to go to prison. She wanted to understand why someone would do that.’

Doyle, of Birchwood Way in Kirkby, Merseyside, was found guilty by a jury of one count of sexual assault. He was jailed for two years and told to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Sentencing, Judge David Swinnerton said: “I accept that what happened was not pre-planned but you tried to take advantage of the opportunity. That was predatory in my opinion.

“There are two reasons why she got in the car with you. One was because you were a bus driver and she trusted you because you were in public office.

“Another reason was that you told her you had a daughter her age and you would hate your daughter if she was in that situation, so you wouldn’t leave her alone. No wonder she was scared.’

Doyle’s partner told him to ‘stay strong’ from the public gallery as he was led down to the cells.

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