Taxi Driver Online

A 'seedy' Cambridge taxi driver tried to pimp me out to other men

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/c ... e-16429511

What one woman thought was a normal taxi ride in Cambridge turned into a terrifying nightmare

A woman has told how a late-night taxi ride in Cambridge turned into a terrifying trauma when the driver openly spoke about being her pimp.

The 29-year-old was taking a taxi from her home in Cherry Hinton to Trumpington to visit a friend at about 1am when the driver brazenly proposed the sex for money venture after a few minutes in the taxi.

The incident comes amid growing fears for the safety of lone women in taxis with an increase in attacks nationally.

Other high-profile cases have brought the issue into the public eye.

In 2009 the case of “black cab rapist” John Worboys raised concern for the safety of women travelling in taxis and minicabs.

The 62-year-old was convicted of 12 attacks but police believe he could have struck more than 100 times.

And Abu Baker, 25, of Cambridge, was given a suspended prison sentence earlier this year after he was found guilty of sexually touching two women who he picked up in his taxi.

Now another woman has come forward to warn others after a disturbing incidence involving an unknown driver.

She said: "It was in the early hours of the morning in May when I ordered a taxi to take me on a short distance to a friend of mine.

"At first all was well with small talk between myself and the driver, but I began to notice he continually kept asking me about work."

Grooming?

The woman added: "I sat quite confused for a while before putting two and two together.

The driver had obviously come to the conclusion that I was a working girl. He said to me 'I get you customers'. 'You call me I come, no matter what the time is'.

"He told me to not bother calling the taxi company itself and go direct to him stating 'you make money, I make money'.

"I felt really uneasy at this. If you take the taxi company out of the picture then you take away your safety net. I sat stunned. This taxi driver was asking to pimp me out.

"I know that there have been warnings about just jumping into any car without checking to see if the driver is indeed a valid taxi driver, but I thought we'd moved past this and our taxi network was safer.

"I told him I wasn't interested and when I got out of the cab just ran home as fast as I could.

"I felt scared, vulnerable and angry at the same time."

Surge in taxi sex attacks

Last year (2018), police conducted 151 taxi driver rape inquiries and 353 sexual assault allegations.

That's a four percent increase from the previous year. But the true total could be even higher as only 23 of the 44 police forces in England and Wales answered to the freedom of information request.

The Cherry Hinton woman said she regretted not taking the details of the taxi but hoped others would call police.

The Cambridgeshire force have urged victims to come forward and have reissued advice on staying safe following the prostitution proposal.

The force cited the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which defines harassment as “any behaviour which causes the victim alarm or distress, or puts them in fear of violence more than twice".

Protecting yourself from stalking or harassment

There are some simple measures you can take to help protect yourself if you believe you’re being stalked or harassed;

• Take a mobile with you when you’re out so you can call us on 101, or 999 in an emergency
• Carry a personal attack alarm
• Always let someone know what your plans are
• Keep a record of your stalkers actions as this can be a helpful source of evidence for officers investigating your case and ensure you keep a clear time-line of their behaviour
• Try to screen shot any unwanted or alarming social media messages before they’re removed
• Record as much as you can about the appearance of the stalker
• Keep all evidence such as letters, parcels and text messages and record any telephone calls
• Tell your loved ones about what is happening so that they can support you
• Do not approach or engage with your stalker in any way.

Not sure about that.

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IDFIMH