This smiling 17-year-old student survived a violent sex assault at the hands of a taxi driver and has now bravely come forward to warn women: 'Don't get a cab on your own'- College student was in cab with two of her friends after night out in 2010
- But after driver dropped off her friends, he attacked her after she fell asleep
- She managed to fight him off and the man was later arrested and jailed
- Now 21-year-old has told of her ordeal in bid to warn others to take care
- She released a photo of her taken on the night the attack took place
A care worker has told of the terrifying moment the taxi driver she paid to take her home safely dragged her sleeping from the back of his cab before violently attacking her.
Zameer Arshad, a father-of-three, threw Carly Robinson - then a 17-year-old college student - onto a mattress before forcing himself on her and sexually assaulting her.
Afterwards he pushed her back into the car and drove on as if nothing had happened. When he was caught he told police she had initiated it.
Now Miss Robinson – who is expecting her first child – has released a picture of herself on the night of the attack to warn other women to be careful when travelling alone.
She said she was not ashamed of what happened but wanted to warn other women to be cautious, even if they had booked a licensed taxi as she had.
'That sick pervert took advantage of me,' she said, after waiving her right to anonymity.
'Looking back at the happy photo taken that night, I had no idea my life was about to change. Now I'm moving on and expecting a baby, but I'll never get a cab by myself again.'
The now 21-year-old continued: 'I hope my story serves as a warning to other young girls. I thought I was safe travelling by myself and trusted the driver to get me home.'
Miss Robinson said on the night of the attack in October 2010 she was out with her friends in Clitheroe, Lancashire, when they decided to go home.
They called a reputable taxi company for a lift.
After the driver dropped off the other women, Miss Robinson was alone. She fell asleep but woke to find the driver dragging her from the car.
'I screamed, "what are you doing?", she said; 'He was pulling me from the car. He pulled me into a house. He hauled me into a bedroom and flung me onto a single bed with no sheets.
Miss Robinson said she thought; 'I can't let him rape me.'
'I kicked and screamed until he backed away,' she said; 'I yelled, "Let me go".
'I must have startled him because he dragged me back outside to the cab, threw me onto the backseat and sped off.'
She was crying when another car pulled up and the driver took her home and told her to go to the police.
Zameer Arshad was jailed for three and a half years after he was convicted of sexual assault in 2012
'As soon as I got indoors, I collapsed in a heap,' she said; 'I couldn't get my head around what had just happened.'
She reported it to the police and within days cab driver Arshad had been arrested.
In February 2012 at Burnley Crown Court, Arshad, then 26, of Accrington, Lancashire, denied sexually assaulting Miss Robinson and claimed she initiated it.
Miss Robinson said: 'I told the jury how scared I'd been, how I'd desperately tried to fight him off.
'Thankfully, they saw through Arshad's pathetic story and found him guilty of sexual assault.'
Arshad was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment, placed on the sex offenders' register for life, and banned from working with children.
He was also forbidden to work as a driver on any public transport for 15 years.
Speaking after the hearing, DC Helen Mercer from Accrington CID said: 'People trust taxi drivers to get them home safely and to abuse his position in this way is appalling. I would like to praise her for coming forward to the police and for her bravery throughout the trial.'
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z3PfiQxRgE viewtopic.php?f=2&t=18617&p=232593&hilit=Arshad#p232593
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