A Canberra taxi driver who took a vulnerable passenger back to his house and raped her has lost an appeal against his seven-year jail sentence after a court ruled it was not "manifestly excessive".
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Neelander Neel Sirohi, 31, picked the woman up at 3.20am from a taxi rank near the Civic bus interchange one night in August, 2013.
The woman had been drinking throughout the night and had taken prescription medication. She remembered feeling sleepy during the drive.
Sirohi sexually assaulted her while she was in the front seat.
He then took her back to his Harrison home, where he sexually assaulted her again before dropping her home.
The victim told police she had little memory of the ordeal.
A medical examination and cab records linked Sirohi to the attack, but he initially denied the allegations, saying he had never taken a passenger home.
Sirohi initially pleaded not guilty and was bailed.
He was arrested soon after at the Indian High Commission as he attempted to get travel documents so he could flee the country.
Sirohi later pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent five days before he had been due to stand trial.
During a sentence hearing, Sirohi expressed remorse and said he felt profound sorrow for the pain he had caused the victim.
In sentencing Sirohi last year, Justice John Burns said the attack on the "highly vulnerable" victim had been at first opportunistic and then calculated.
"It is difficult to comprehend why you were willing to engage in such selfish and destructive cruelty for the sake of fleeting sexual gratification," the judge said.
Justice Burns said the offences had involved a significant breach of trust as taxi driving was a job trusted to ensure patrons safely reached their destination.
He sentenced Sirohi to seven years and eight months behind bars, with a non-parole period of four years.
The offender would be eligible for parole in October, 2018.
Sirohi appealed the sentence in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday on grounds it was manifestly excessive.
He argued the sentencing judge had failed to take into account his show of remorse and the likelihood he would be in a minority group in jail.
Those arguments were rejected by Acting Justice Michael Wigney, who said a fair reading of the judge's decision showed he did take those factors into account.
The court heard Sirohi's sentence took into account he expressed remorse, had no prior convictions and reasonable prospects for rehabilitation.
The judge had also acknowledged prison was likely to be isolating for him, given he did not have family in the ACT.
Chief Justice Helen Murrell said the sentences for each of the two offences were stern, but not unreasonable or plainly unjust.
The appeal was dismissed.