Tewesbury teenager said taxi driver touched her groin on journey home from WorcesterA teenager told a court she believed a taxi driver was trying to make her have sex with him instead of paying the far when he put his hand on her groin.
Cabbie Arshad Mehmood stands accused of sexually assaulting the Tewkesbury student he was driving home from Worcester at around 7pm on November 26, 2013.
The woman told Gloucester Crown Court on Wednesday she had picked up the cab from the railway station after her train was delayed.
She said when the taxi got to her home town; he began moving his hand up her leg and touching her groin from outside of her trousers.
She told the jury: “He said I didn’t have to pay if I took him back to my house. I said I wasn’t that sort of person.
“He said he would give me lots of free taxi rides – and I thought he meant probably in exchange for sex.
“He grabbed the money I had in my hand and I gave him a fake number, grabbed my stuff and got out of the car.”
She said when 28-year-old Mehmood tried to call the number and realised it was not ringing, he called her names.
The court heard the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, approached two women in the street and asked them to pretend they knew her and they walked down the road with her.
Prosecutor Kenneth Bell said she memorised the car’s number plate and contacted police when she returned home.
Mr Bell told the jury of six men and six women: “She went to the train station and it was cancelled and so she had to get a taxi. She took some money out and approached a taxi and asked how much to Tewkesbury. She was quoted £30 and got in and off they went.
“Before they left Worcester he put his hand on her right thigh and began engaging her in conversation.
“She was listening to her iPhone and put her ear phones in and he removed his hand shortly after.
“But when they arrived in Tewkesbury he put his hand on her right thigh and moved it up gradually towards her groin.
“He made comments such as ‘I like you’, ‘do you have a boyfriend?’ and when the taxi stopped he tried to hug her.”
But Mehmood of Carlisle Road in Worcester denied ever touching the young woman. He said she had refused to pay the taxi fare and he said he would call the police.
Defending Jason Patel said the pair had not agreed on a price, but the cab was running on a meter that came to £28.60.
He suggested to the woman that she felt ripped off and refused to pay more than £20.
She replied: “The guy was scaring me. I got out the car and gave him the money. I wouldn’t create an argument over £10 right near my home when I had money in the bank.”
The trial continues.
Read more:
http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Te ... z3DbMYbhP6
Login
Register
FAQ
