Posted on the 18th October 2026 in PHTM News

LITHERLAND MOTHER COLLAPSES IN COURT AFTER AVOIDING JAIL FOR TAXI DRIVER SEXUAL ASSAULT

A forty-one-year-old mother of four collapsed in tears at Liverpool Crown Court on 14 October after being spared a prison sentence for sexually assaulting a taxi driver while heavily intoxicated.

Emma Richards, of Litherland, sobbed and fell to the floor despite being given an 18-month community order and a six-month alcohol abstinence requirement, reacting with distress upon learning she would also be placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

She originally denied the offence, but Judge Simon Medland KC noted that "the evidence against her was frankly overwhelming because of the car CCTV footage."

The assault occurred at around 8:50pm on 12 June this year, when the victim picked up Richards. Sitting in the front passenger seat after drinking heavily, Richards made suggestive remarks, told the driver he "smelled nice", grabbed his left arm, and tried to kiss him. Despite being rebuffed, she grabbed his arm again, touched and rubbed his groin over a period of a few minutes, and exposed her chest.

Prosecutor Ben Stanley stated that the victim did not tell her to stop "because he was worried how she would react as they were trapped in the vehicle together."

The four-minute ordeal ended when Richards left the car, prompting the victim to drive round the corner and call the police.

In a moving statement, the driver explained how the attack stripped away his sense of safety and forced him to give up his livelihood due to severe anxiety. 

In mitigation, defence barrister Matt O'Neill described Richards's life as "very traumatic at times" as a survivor of domestic abuse who had previously attempted suicide, noting she was a woman who "lost her good character due to issues with alcohol."

Judge Menary acknowledged her history of depression and anxiety, but emphasised the severe harm caused to the victim.

He remarked that "sexual assault, whether committed by a woman or a man, on a woman or a man, is a very serious thing" and highlighted that while the incident lasted only a few minutes, it "often has a profound effect on the victim."


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