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Reigate taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting passengers


A TAXI driver has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting female passengers in his cab.

A jury at Guildford Crown Court was told that Mohammed Irfan Iqbal, of North Road in South Park, Reigate, attacked two women after picking them up late at night.

Prosecuting, Simon Connolly said Mr Iqbal had sexually assaulted the women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, almost three years apart to the day.

On March 25 this year, Mr Iqbal picked up two women who had been out drinking in Reigate. The woman he would later be accused of assaulting was said to be "very drunk".

"[Her friend] got the cab driver to tell her when he had dropped [the victim] off so she would know her friend was safely in the door," said Mr Connolly.

"There was a call at 2.15am. He said 'yes she's dropped off, she's safe'. But he hadn't dropped her off."

Giving evidence, the alleged victim said her memory of the incident was vague. She was unsure if there had been one or two men in the cab but remembered having her jeans pulled down and being sexually assaulted.

Asked if she had consented to what was happening, she said "no", adding: "I tried to push him off".

The previous incident is alleged to have taken place on March 22, 2009.

A 25-year-old woman, who gave evidence from behind a screen, said she had consumed about a bottle of wine but was not drunk. She described how a cab driver picked her up in Reigate town centre after a night out with friends at JJ Whispers, and drove out into "dark country roads".

"I kept asking him where we were and where he was taking me," she said. "He was, 'I need to go to the police station' or 'I need to get petrol', almost like he didn't really know what he was talking about."

The court was told he touched her thigh and kissed her, trying to force his tongue into her mouth. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and a DNA profile taken from the jacket matched Mr Iqbal following his arrest three years later.

He said his DNA must have transferred after he sneezed twice in the cab.

Mr Iqbal denies two offences of kidnap with the intention of carrying out a sex crime, two offences of sexual assault and one of theft.

However, the jury was discharged on Tuesday, after the court was told of fresh developments.

http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/Reig ... story.html

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Surrey taxi driver jailed for sexually assaulting passengers


A TAXI driver who sexually assaulted two women passengers in his car after picking them up late at night has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Sexual predator Mohammed Iqbal, a 34-year-old father-of-three of North Road, South Park, had pleaded innocent to two counts of sexual assault and one of kidnap, following the attacks in Reigate.

But key DNA evidence produced on the last day of his trial sensationally forced him to admit his guilt.

Police have failed to explain why the evidence – Iqbal's DNA found inside one of his victims' underwear – was not provided earlier, saying only that the error was down to a "miscommunication".

The blunder meant the two women, who are granted anonymity under the law, had to go through the ordeal of taking to the witness box to recount the attacks in an eight-day trial which would have cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds.

Trial judge Peter Moss told Guildford Crown Court he had "called for an inquiry to be instigated into this matter".

Following the trial, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Errol Chetty said: "We are very pleased with the five-and-a-half year sentence Mohammed Iqbal received and hope that this will encourage other victims of such crime to contact police."

He said he hoped it sent a clear message that police "will always conduct a full and thorough investigation into allegations of sexual assault", and praised the two victims for their "courage and dignity". He did not apologise for the error, saying only that "a miscommunication" had occurred and police were looking into the issue.

Trial administration costs would have run to more than £16,000, with the crown's prosecution costs on top.

Iqbal, who worked as a freelance driver, targeted his first victim on March 22, 2009.

The woman, who was 25 at the time, described how he drove her around "dark, country lanes" for about two hours, grabbed her thigh and kissed her, after picking her up following a night out in JJ Whispers night club in Church Street, Reigate.

"He was doing what he was doing in order to sexually assault her," prosecutor Simon Connolly said. "That is what he started to do. She had had some drink but wasn't drunk. She was able to resist and he eventually stopped and let her go."

However, three years later, on March 25 this year, a 19-year-old from Reigate was left alone and "very drunk" in Iqbal's taxi.

Wringing her hands with anxiety, the woman was forced to give evidence to the court, and describe how he had performed a sexual act on her, although her recollections were vague. Asked if she had consented to what was happening, she said "no", adding: "I tried to push him off".

She stood in the witness box as the court was played a recording of her hysterical nine-minute 999 call to police. She told the jury she was still upset by what had happened.

Sentencing Iqbal, Judge Moss said: "You took advantage of the state of both these women.

"You were highly thought of in the community," he added. "But you have destroyed the trust they had in you."

Iqbal's crimes had caused immense "damage" to both his victims and his late guilty pleas made it difficult to mitigate his sentence.

"You told the jury in your trial a great deal of lies," he said. Iqbal has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register.

A second offence of kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence, and a charge of theft, were ordered to lie on the file.

http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/Surr ... story.html

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

You would have thought DNA evidence would have been the key evidence in this case.

How on earth could it have been missed due to communications?

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IDFIMH

targeted his first victim on March 22, 2009

However, three years later, on March 25 this year, a 19-year-old from Reigate was left alone and "very drunk" in Iqbal's taxi.


Can someone tell me why he only got 5 and a half years?

He pleaded not guilty, and god knows how many others have been his victim in the 3 years.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I think we should ask the Brits to leave Britain myself, they obviously can't control themselves can they, Britain would be a safer place for women without the Brits, yeah lets do that, get out you bloody Brits you ain't no good and every immigrant knows it.