Police ignored a sex attack by a minicab driver on a professional woman leaving him free to strike again 10 days later, a court heard.
Alaksur Rahman, 39, assaulted a media executive as she returned home from a party in Hoxton in June last year, the jury was told.
Police decided to take no further action against Rahman following the attack, and 10 days later he sexually assaulted a PR executive as she headed home from a night out in Shoreditch.
Rahman, of Poplar, was jailed for 30 months at Snaresbrook crown court after he admitted two charges of sexual assault. He has a previous conviction for soliciting for business as a minicab driver.
Sentencing, Judge Martin Zeidman said: “The message is this, woman have a right to be treated decently and that applies whether they are sober or drunk.
“If a drunk woman gets into your cab, as happened on both these occasions, you as a minicab driver are on trust not to take advantage of those women who are intoxicated and vulnerable.”
The court heard that Rahman assaulted the media executive after she booked the cab and shared part of the journey home with another woman.
She became uneasy when the other passenger was dropped off and she was left alone with Rahman.
He fondled her leg as she paid her fare, then put his hand on her shoulder. She pushed him away but he followed her to her front door and she began frantically ringing the bell because she could not find her door keys.
Rahman left the scene when he saw she did not live alone.
The woman described herself as “drunk” but said she was still in control, and said she was terrified by the experience.
The PR executive who was sexually assaulted by Rahman 10 days later after he drove her to a dark residential street said she felt paralysed with fear.
She screamed then sprinted towards a main road, where she called her boyfriend. In a statement, she said: “I was extremely shocked by his actions and I felt he was being opportunistic because I had been drinking heavily.
“I was scared and this was exacerbated by the fact that I couldn’t get out of the car, I was concerned I was going to be raped.”
She added: “I think the driver was extremely surprised by my aggressive reaction.’
The father-of-three, who worked for cab firm Crescent Cars, was then arrested again and charged.
Source: The Standard
