Taxi driver cleared of sex assault A taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger has been found not guilty by a jury.
Farman Abdulla, 25, was not at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday to hear the verdict, having returned to his native Iran before the trial.
The 25-year-old, formerly of Franks Lane, Cambridge, had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing to sexually assaulting a customer in the early hours of November 26, two days after he had started working for taxi company Cam Cab.
He left the UK and returned to Iran before his trial date and the case went ahead in his absence on Monday and Tuesday.
The victim had claimed Mr Abdulla had pulled into a side street just before reaching her home and touched her knee, asked if she lived alone and locked the taxi’s doors.
However, during the trial Mr Abdulla’s lawyer had argued that a touch of the knee did not amount to sexual assault.
A bench warrant executed for Mr Abdulla’s non-attendance at court will be activated if he returns to the UK.
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