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| Perthshire sex attack taxi driver loses job and marriage http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27406 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Fri Aug 07, 2015 8:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Perthshire sex attack taxi driver loses job and marriage |
Perthshire sex attack taxi driver loses job and marriage after ‘moment of madness’ Bankfoot man (40) has name added to Sex Offenders' Register for 18 months A teenage girl fled from a taxi driver’s cab - and hid in the bushes - after she was groped by him on a country road last November. Forty-year-old Mark Smith, who admitted he was “old enough to be her father”, had his name added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for 18 months yesterday - and will be supervised for the same length of time as part of a Community Payback Order (CPO). He will also have to take part in the Tay Project, designed to rehabilitate sex offenders. A background report had recommended he take part in the programme for three years but Sheriff Valerie Johnston reduced that to 18 months. She described the three years as “quite a lengthy period of time”. She noted he would have to attend twice-weekly sessions, for two-and-a-half hours each time, and she felt that would be “quite demanding”. Lawyer David Holmes pointed out that his client was a first offender and added: “He didn’t seek in any way to prolong matters.” While he didn’t wish to “minimise” the impact on the teenager, the incident had lasted just “a few seconds”. He added: “He didn’t seek to detain or pursue the complainer.” Smith, of Mansefield Park, Bankfoot, was found guilty after trial last month of sexually assaulting the female in his eight-seater mini-bus on an unclassified road near Perth on November 30 last year. He pulled her towards him, attempted to kiss her on the lips and touched her on the thigh and neck. Sheriff Johnston decided not to impose any hours of unpaid work as part of the CPO. But Smith will have to inform his supervising officer if he becomes involved in any new relationship. Mr Holmes told the court he had lost his job as a taxi driver and his marriage was over. His mother had also died recently. “He has a lot to consider. There was a significant level of publicity and that has brought difficulties not only for him but his extended family.” The trial was told that no fare had been agreed - and Smith hadn’t switched on the meter - when he picked up the 18-year-old. She told him a few times during the journey that she didn’t think she had enough money for the fare. But Smith told her: “Don’t worry about the money - a kiss and a cuddle will do.” He claimed he had been encouraged to behave the way he did - he described it as “a moment of madness” - because she “smiled” at him. He told his trial: “I moved towards her without any sort of attack or threat. “At that point she never tried to push me away. She never shouted or screamed anything. “When she gave me the initial smile, that was my signal she was more than willing to give me a cuddle.” Smith said he hadn’t worked as a taxi driver since the incident. “I had my licence taken off me immediately,” he said. “It wasn’t the right thing to do,” he admitted. “A taxi driver is meant to be responsible for getting her home safely.” source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/p ... er-6209339 |
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