Hereford Taxi Driver Sentenced To 13 Years For Serious Sexual Assault A taxi driver who carried out a serious sexual assault on a woman in the back of his car in Hereford has today (Thursday, 13 December) been sentenced to at least 13 years in jail.
Nikolay Hristov, aged 35 (08/08/1977), of Ross Road, Hereford, will only be eligible for release when he has served the prison term handed to him and has been assessed by the parole service to be of minimal risk.
He will also remain on the sex offenders register for life and will face deportation on his release from prison.
Hristov - a Bulgarian national - was arrested following a report that a local woman in her 20s had been assaulted in the early hours of 27 January.
The woman got into Hristov's taxi on Commercial Street at around 1.30am with a female friend, following a night out in the city centre. Hristov dropped off the friend on Grandstand Road before continuing the journey to the woman's home address to the north west of the city.
Hristov then pulled into a lane off the Kings Acre Road where he assaulted the woman in the back of his car before dropping her off at home. A few hours later, the woman told her friend what had happened and the matter was reported to the police.
Detectives from Hereford CID launched a major investigation and specially trained officers worked with the victim to support her.
Following an extensive examination of the city's CCTV, officers were able to locate the woman and identify the taxi she and her friend had got into. Hristov was arrested on 1 February and was later charged with assault by penetration.
After an eight day trial at Hereford Crown Court, His Honour Judge Toby Hooper QC sentenced Hristov to a minimum of 13 years in prison calling him a ‘dangerous and calculated offender'. Judge Hooper also commended the police for their ‘meticulous investigation'.
Detective Inspector Martyn Barnes led the investigation into the operation to find the woman's attacker and bring him to justice. He said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the case: "This was an appalling offence where Hristov, as a taxi driver, was in a position of trust - a position he abused in the most horrendous and predatory manner.
"Hristov is a highly dangerous individual who preyed on a particularly vulnerable female, the circumstances of which were some of the most horrendous that my officers have had to investigate.
"I would like to pay tribute to the enormous courage displayed by the victim. This crime has had a devastating impact on her life and her loved ones. She continues to struggle to come to terms with what occurred, made worse by Histrov who lied and attempted to deceive investigators by maintaining his innocence throughout and forcing his victim to relive her ordeal at court.
"She has remained dignified and resolute throughout this process, motivated by the fact she would be preventing other women from becoming his victims.
"I would like to thank the victim for her enormous courage and the trust she has placed in the justice system. I would also like to thank the public for their assistance in this inquiry, and the officers for their persistence, dedication and professionalism in ensuring this dangerous offender was brought to justice."
http://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/ne ... sault.html
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