Woman fled Hull private-hire driver after sexual assault in front of carAN OFF-duty private-hire driver sexually assaulted a woman in his cab after picking her up in the street.
Former Welly Club doorman Masoud Rahimi preyed on the 20-year-old as she walked along Ferensway, Hull city centre, from the nightclub.
He sexually assaulted her, making inappropriate remarks and stroking her leg after she got into the front passenger seat.
A jury at Hull Crown Court took five hours to unanimously convict him of sexual assault.
Rahimi, 37, was caught after CCTV footage showed him pulling up in front of the girl in his blue Nissan Primera and offering his services for hire, which he was prevented from doing by his private hire licence.
Detective Sergeant Sam Crompton, from Hull CID said:: "This should serve as a warning to those who abuse their powers as a taxi driver or those who unlawfully use their vehicles for the purpose of taxiing."
The court heard Rahimi, of Berkshire Street, east Hull, told the girl she was "beautiful" before assaulting her.
The victim told the court: "I saw what I thought was a taxi pull up and I went over to it and asked to be taken home.
"I gave my address to the driver, my feet were hurting and it was the easy option.
"He placed his left hand on my leg and asked if I was cold.
"He kept his hand there and rubbed my leg from the ankle to the thigh. He asked if I shaved and said he could tell I did. I was shocked but kept quiet."
Despite her request to be taken to east Hull, Rahimi took her to west Hull and ended up in Asda petrol station in Hessle Road.
Once there, the girl escaped from his cab and ran for help.
She said: "I wanted to get out. Once he stopped at the petrol station I took my seat belt off and ran as fast as I could."
She rang her friend for help and reported what had happened to the police the next morning.
Iranian-born Rahimi, who has lived in Hull for eight years, denied it was him until the CCTV footage was shown to him, showing the girl fleeing from his car as he put petrol in his taxi.
Ordering a pre-sentence report, Judge James Sampson adjourned sentencing but said he would not be sending Rahimi to prison, although he has been ordered to sign the sex offenders register.
Rahimi was in his private hire cab at the time of the assault at 3.30am on May 6 but was not working at the time.
Rahimi, who volunteers as an interpreter at the Hull Asylum Seeker Support Group, has worked as a door supervisor for three years and had been working for Six 0 Cars at the time. The court heard he no longer works for the firm.
Private hire vehicles are banned from picking up fares that have not been booked.
Detective Sergeant Crompton said: "Humberside Police will continue to work with other agencies in brining offenders to justice.
"It is important to stress that incidents of this nature are extremely rare and taxis are still one of the safest ways of getting home following a night out.
"However, we would encourage lone females to sit at the rear of the taxi to reduce the risk of being targeted by a very small minority of offenders."
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