Taxi Driver Online

A TAXI driver preyed on vulnerable women who were “held captive” in the back of his car, a court heard.

Ali Hassan, aged 35, of Bertrand Road, Bolton, was yesterday sentenced to 18 months in prison for two separate offences against young women.

Judge Maureen Roddy jailed Hassan for six months for the first offence of attempted sexual assault and 12 months for the second offence of sexual assault. The sentences are to run consecutively.

She told him he had abused his position of trust.

“These were vulnerable young women on their own in a confined space with you.

You had them captive,” she said.

Bolton Crown Court heard Hassan, who mentored Somali teenagers from underprivileged backgrounds, had been “emboldened” after seemingly getting away with his first offence — an attempted sexual assault — in February, 2008.

The 18-year-old victim reported the incident to police and Hassan was interviewed, but no further action was taken.

The second offence took place in January, 2009.

Hassan picked up another 18-year-old from Nelson Square, Bolton. He asked her to get in the front of his private- hire vehicle, but she refused, so Hassan parked up in an alley in Farnworth.

He got on to the back seat, where he touched her and kissed her neck and shoulders.

He pulled her out of the car and pressed himself up against her, the court heard.

Hassan, who is married and has four young children, was arrested in May last year, after police matched DNA taken from a kiss on his victim’s cheek.

Judge Roddy said: “It is a concern to me that having committed the first offence and been interviewed about it by police, you appear to have been emboldened and went on to commit the second more serious offence.”

The judge said both victims were highly respectable and responsible young women.

She added: “I have no doubt that they were both deeply distressed and you have undermined their confidence by what you have done.”

Judge Roddy said she was concerned by Hassan’s role as a mentor.

“That leaves me with a sense of unease, but there is no suggestion that you behaved inappropriately towards the people you were mentoring,” she said.

Hassan must also sign the sex offenders’ register for the next 10 years.

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Not another one perhaps we need some sort of awareness course for drivers on the consequences of such actions or 24hr cctv sur4veillance inside taxi and PH vehicles to ensure that drivers or punters don't feel "emboldened"