Taxi Driver Online

Evil Sheffield taxi driver and dad-of-four drove student from nightclub to remote woods and raped her in his cab



A "disgraceful" Sheffield taxi driver has been sentenced for driving a vulnerable student out into a remote location and raping her.

Altaf Hussain, 45, of Silverdale Road, Sheffield, was handed a 15 year sentence at Sheffield Crown Court today (Friday) after being found guilty of two counts of rape on January 26, 2020.

The victim got into Hussain's taxi after leaving Code nightclub in Sheffield city centre and asked him to take her home. However Hussain took her to a remote and wooded location on the edge of Sheffield and raped her in his taxi.

He then took the victim home where her worried housemates contacted the police.

The victim, who can't be named for legal reasons, read out a victim impact statement in court today, in which she said that she had dropped out of studying in Sheffield and moved back home due to the ongoing stress and trauma that she had suffered as a result of the attack.

She said that she had been having nightmares about the rape and "intrusive thoughts every day for the last two years".

She said: "When I was raped I just shut down. I didn't think there was any help.

"I still put on a brave face. Now looking back I can see I was spiralling down and out of control."

She said that she had reached out for help and added: "I want to be strong and let him know that he has not ruined me but it has made my life very hard."

She added that she wanted "some form of closure".

During mitigation, Hussain's attorney told the court that his client was married with four children and was a "community-minded person who was willing to give up his time to assist the community and work within it".

Sentencing Hussain, Judge David Dixon said: "Your character references said you are a helpful member of the community that people found hard to believe could carry out these offences. Those individuals didn't sit through the trial and hear the nonsense that you told to the jury.

"They didn't hear from the complainant of her limited recollection of what happened to her and what you put her through."

Hussain had argued that he didn't realise the victim was intoxicated until some time after she got in his taxi and that she had made approaches to him as he drove her home.

The judge said: "In my judgement you knew from the very moment you saw her that she was vulnerable through drink and at that moment you chose to abuse her.

"The suggestion that she made any sort of advances to you is utterly ludicrous."

Judge Dixon said that he would give Hussain an extended sentence due to the abuse of trust he had carried out in his role as a taxi driver.

The judge said: "People want to trust a taxi driver to do the right thing. To take them home. To take their children home without fear they will be insulted or worse still an offence like this.

"Your offending has repercussions across the whole of the city. It influences the way people trust taxi drivers generally.

"People will wonder if he has done it how many will.

"In my opinion this is clearly an abuse of trust."

The judge also said he believed that there was a possibility Hussain had carried out similar offences in the past that had not been reported.

He added: "The way in which you carried out this offence greatly troubles me. There was no hesitation. You knew where to take her and had no concern of dropping her off at her home.

"Even if I'm wrong here you were clearly faced with a young woman who was vulnerable. It's right that you face a significant time in custody."

Hussain was sentenced to 15 years, of which he will serve at least six and a half years. He was also given a lifetime restraining order against the victim.

Judge Dixon said: "You are a disgraceful man who has abused a young woman whose life has been changed for your own satisfaction."

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IDFIMH

My kind of judge.

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IDFIMH

Nothing particularly remarkable here. Just really a damage limitation excercise from the council in terms of PR and politics, and much the same from the trade in the commercial sense


Sheffield taxi rape: council reveals safety measures as fellow drivers condemn 'heinous' crime

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/sh ... me-3527088

Sheffield Council says a taxi driver who raped a young passenger had his licence suspended as soon as it was notified of his arrest.

Members of Sheffield Council’s licensing sub-committee are now expected to revoke Altaf Hussain’s licence after the 45-year-old was found guilty of two counts of rape and jailed for 15 years.

When asked whether an inquiry will be held following the shocking crime, the council did not give an answer but it described the measures which are already in place to ensure the safety of taxi passengers in the city.

Fellow taxi drivers have also condemned the crime but insist that Sheffield has a ‘proud’ record when it comes to safety and claim passengers should not be put off by what they say was an isolated incident.

What happens when a taxi driver applies for a licence?

Sheffield Council told The Star that anyone applying for a licence must undergo a range of tests and checks, and that safeguarding training checks are also made to the National Anti-Fraud Network database on refusals and revocation of hackney carriage and private hire licences.

And it added that applicants are also required to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Once a licence is granted, the council said, holders must be able to show proof of continuous registration with the DBS Update Service to enable the council to routinely check for new information every six months or face suspension.

South Yorkshire Police revealed how Hussain, formerly of the Ecclesall area of Sheffield, had picked up his 18-year-old victim in January 2020 and driven her to a secluded area where he raped her.

What have taxi drivers said about the shocking crime?

Following Altaf Hussain’s sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court last Friday, Sheffield taxi driver Ibrar Hussain said: “In my 34 years as a taxi driver, this is the first time I’ve heard of a taxi driver doing something like this in Sheffield.

“We’re working very closely with the licensing authority and with the police to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

“This is one awfully sad incident that’s shocked us all, but, rest assured, 99.999 per cent of drivers are very, very safe and the drivers in Sheffield want to be a beacon for drivers across the country.”

Mr Hussain added that Sheffield Council already had in place a ‘very rigorous process’ for people applying to become a taxi driver.

But he reiterated his concerns about cross-border working, which means people who are licensed in one part of the country can work anywhere else in the country, and said he would advise passengers to make sure before getting into a taxi that it’s a Sheffield-licensed vehicle.

Lee Ward, chairman of the taxi drivers group ALPHA (A Local Private Hire Association), said: “Thankfully in Sheffield this is a very, very rare occurrence where a taxi driver commits such a heinous crime as that. It’s so rare that the trade in Sheffield is proud of its record.”

He added: “People should be able to step into a taxi knowing the driver’s a fit and proper person they can rely on to get them home.”

Mr Ward advised passengers to only flag down licensed Hackney cabs or pre-book their journey with a reputable company, and to only use drivers who are licensed in Sheffield.”

Someone needs to remind that council of the law.

They can't revoke once they have suspended a license, in fact they shouldn't have suspended it in the first place. They should have revoked as soon as they became aware of the matter(s) he was arrested for.

It might not make sense to the layman to do it that way, but that's the way the courts decided it needs to be done.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=19698

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IDFIMH

Think his badge will expire before he gets out.

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Former taxi driver

Rapist taxi driver Altaf Hussain may have attacked before in Sheffield, says detective

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/ra ... ve-3546117

The detective who put a rapist taxi driver behind bars says he cannot rule out the possibility he committed other attacks police don’t know about

Altaf Hussain, 45, of Silverdale Road, was jailed for 15 years in December after he picked up a vulnerable young woman who had been on a night out, drove her to a secluded area and raped her.

The Sheffield taxi driver – who is a dad of four – later blamed the victim and insisted the sex was consensual and ‘her idea’, forcing her to testify against him in court.

Now, the South Yorkshire Police detective who took Hussain off the streets has shared how the vile attacker was caught – and how he feels there is a chance he has other victims yet to come forward.

DC Thomas Ryan, who led the investigation, said: “Altaf Hussain is a disservice to taxi drivers. We put our confidence in drivers to get us and our loved ones home – he abused that position of trust.

"Sheffield is safer without him.”

What happened on the night of the attack

On January 26, 2020, the young woman in the case was left on her own after a night out when her friends took a taxi home together and the boy she was with wandered off by himself.

This left her to get a taxi home on her own – at which point she climbed into the Hackney carriage cab of Altaf Hussain.

DC Ryan said: “Hussain’s cab was fitted with a radio that also tracked his location. Later in the investigation, we were able to track his exact location and time on a map. It was eerie – it meant we watched the offence happen in real time.

"There was a distinct moment he made a U-turn on Ecclesall Road and took a different exit on the Hunter’s Bar roundabout he had just used, before driving to where the offence took place.

"The time it took to pick her up, carry out the offence and drop her at home was around 29 minutes.”

It was then that Hussain drove his vulnerable victim to a secluded area, raped her, and dropped her off at home.

Taxi driver’s actions were ‘slick and predatory’

DC Ryan said: “The judge said in the trial he had ‘grave concerns’ about Hussain, and I echo that – his actions were slick and predatory.

"It was so quick it almost seemed rehearsed. I would be shocked it’s the first time he did this kind of thing.

"I would not at all be surprised if there are other victims of his who have not come forward.”

When the victim got in sometime after 4am, her concerned friends rang the police and reported the attack. After her experience, the brave young woman went through the process of a police interview and evidence gathering on the same night.

DC Ryan and his team ordered their forensics lab to fast track the DNA evidence they gathered. A month after the attack, in March, it came back with a match on Altaf Hussain.

DC Ryan said: “We immediately acted on it, as he posed a risk. He wasn’t in at home, but his wife called him and we told him he was wanted for questioning.

"He turned up to the police station in the cab.

Taxi driver ‘added insult to injury’ by lying and making victim go through trial

"We arrested him on suspicion of rape, seized the cab and began interviews.”

Hussain made no comment in interviews, before opting to read a prepared statement.

His defence, from there on and throughout the trial, was that he and the victim – who was less than half his age – had had consensual sex and it had all been ‘her idea’.

"It added insult to injury,” said DC Ryan. “The evidence we had was, I thought, conclusive. This girl was half his age. To say they had consensual sex was his only option.

"He decided to blame the victim and claim it was all her idea. He committed this crime and went on to lie about her too.”

But the jury didn’t buy it. In December 2021, Hussain was found guilty of two counts of rape and was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Judge David Dixon scolded the 45-year-old in sentencing, saying: “You are a disgraceful man who has abused a young woman whose life has been changed for your own satisfaction.

"Your character references said you are a helpful member of the community that people found hard to believe could carry out these offences. Those individuals didn't sit through the trial and hear the nonsense that you told to the jury.

"The way in which you carried out this offence greatly troubles me. There was no hesitation. You knew where to take her and had no concern of dropping her off at her home.

"In my judgement you knew from the very moment you saw her that she was vulnerable through drink and at that moment you chose to abuse her.

"The suggestion that she made any sort of advances to you is utterly ludicrous.”

‘Inspirational’ victim reveals impact of attack

During the trial, the victim faced her attacker in court. She told the judge how his actions had impacted her life – she had had to move away from Sheffield, change her career and was suffering ‘intrusive thoughts every day’.

She said: "I want to be strong and let him know that he has not ruined me but it has made my life very hard."

DC Ryan said he had spoken to the victim since, and she was now trying to move on with her life.

“I found the victim to be inspirational,” said DC Ryan. “She was brave on the night of the offence to be interviewed right away and having to wait to get justice.

"I have nothing but admiration and respect for her.

"Any victim of sexual offences can come forward and report what happened to them and they will be listened to.”

Let's hope any other victim, of this piece of scum, can get the courage to come forward to the police, thus hopefully ensuring he stays even longer in jail.

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IDFIMH