Taxi driver groped shocked teenage passenger in late-night journeyMarried father-of-two Florian Scripcea convicted of sexually assaulting lone woman in his front seat
A jury has found a taxi driver guilty of groping a lone teenage taxi passenger late at night.
Married father-of-two Florian Scripcea touched the shocked woman indecently over her clothing as she sat in his front seat, the jury at Plymouth Crown Court decided.
The court heard that the 39-year-old paid her compliments and then asked whether her breasts were real during a 15-minute journey across Plymouth.
The woman told the court she panicked and could not explain why she did not run from the people carrier, even though its doors were unlocked, the Plymouth Herald reports.
Scripcea, of Hawkers Lane, Peverell, denied sexually assaulting the woman in his Fiat Scudo on October 30 last year.
He said he never touched anyone but could not recall whether he had given the woman a lift.
She told the jury that Scripcea stopped as she walked home along Union Street alone at 2am.
He offered her a lift for free to the other side of the city even after she admitted she had no money.
A jury took four hours to unanimously convict Scripcea after a three-day trial.
Judge Paul Darlow released him on bail to see a probation officer for sentence tomorrow morning.
He told the Romanian that all options were open – meaning custody is under consideration.
He told the jury: “This is a family man with no previous convictions, but this was frightening and worrying for a young woman."
The victim, who was 18 at the time, said the driver started to say she had nice eyes and hair, before asking her about her breasts.
The teenager said the driver started to stroke her chest over her clothing.
She added that she told him she had a boyfriend.
The victim added that later in the journey Scripcea put his hand between her legs and grabbed her hand and pulled it to his crotch area.
The court heard that the victim later picked the defendant’s image from a video identification parade.
Scripcea told the jury how he was married with two sons aged 10 and two, and had come to the UK from Romania in 2010, bringing his family over with him shortly after beginning work as a taxi driver.
He revealed that since then his taxi licence has not been renewed by Plymouth City Council and he had sold his vehicle.
He is now caring for his youngest son while his wife goes out to work.
source:
http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-new ... age-891991
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