Taxi Driver Online

Burton taxi driver takes to the stand to defend himself following rape allegation

A TAXI driver accused of raping a passenger has told a jury that the woman grabbed his hand and put it on her body before getting on top of him.

Shanzad Akram, who was giving evidence at his trial at Derby Crown Court yesterday, denies rape and claims they had consensual sex in the front of his cab.

The jury had previously heard from the alleged victim, who is in her 20s, that she had been drunk and had fallen asleep in the taxi but had woken to find Akram raping her, not far from her home in Woodville.

But Akram, 32, of Beech Street, Burton, said that was not what happened.

He said: "She took my hand and put it on her body. She was saying, 'come on, let's do something'. I took my hand back and put my hand on the handbrake and then she moved her legs on to me."

He told the court he had then said: "Please, it's not good. I just want to drive."

He said she had put her hand down his trousers and got on to his lap and undid his trousers and they had then had sex.

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, asked: "Did you think about suggesting she got out of the car at that point?"

"It was not the right spot to drop her off," replied Akram.

Mr Janes asked: "Why not? She's taken full advantage of you, she's lured you down a dark alley and taken full advantage of a poor taxi driver."

"She would have probably started fighting with me. I told her to go back to her seat," he replied.

The woman had told an interviewing police officer that when she had woken up she had kept her eyes closed to 'pretend it wasn't happening'.

Asked by the officer why she had kept her eyes closed, she said she was 'scared' and by pretending it was not happening it would make it not real.

The court heard the alleged rape took place at about 5am on a Sunday in September last year after the woman had been on a night out with a friend in Burton. After the woman went to police, Akram was arrested and interviewed. He denied the offence and answered 'no comment' to all questions put to him.

The trial continues.


Read more: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/Burton-taxi ... z3lKBJu1NQ

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

report from previous day;

Taxi driver ‘raped passenger while she slept’, Derby Crown Court heard

September 08, 2015

A TAXI driver has gone on trial for raping a woman in his cab after being paid to take her home.

Shanzad Akram is accused of forcing himself on the woman, who is in her 20s, not far from her home in Woodville.

On the first day of his trial at Derby Crown Court, Akram denied the offence and claimed they had had consensual sex that had been initiated by the woman.

The court heard that the woman told police she had been drunk and had fallen asleep in the taxi – she woke to find him raping her. She said: "I just pretended it wasn't happening – I kept my eyes closed."

Asked by the interviewing officer why she had kept her eyes closed, she said she was "scared" and by pretending it was not happening it would make it not real.

But, she said, when she left the cab and let herself into her house she had been hysterical.

"I was so angry when I got out of the taxi, I went into a mad rage," the woman told the officer. "When I was in my house I was smashing everything up."

She said she felt angry at herself for not doing anything at the time.

When asked how drunk she had been when she got into the taxi on a scale of one to ten, she replied "nine or ten".

The officer asked: "Did you consent to anything that went on in that taxi?" She replied: "No."

Asked how the taxi driver would have known that, she said: "Because I was fast asleep."

The court heard the alleged rape took place at about 5am on a Sunday in September last year.

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, said the woman had been on a night out with a friend in Burton and had drunk two small bottles of Lambrini and about four alcopops.

He said that she had not had enough money to get home and had been given some taxi money by a Good Samaritan.

Mr Janes said: "She falls asleep because she is drunk. She wakes up to find herself being raped in the front of the taxi.

"She wasn't capable, say the prosecution, of agreeing to that.

"She keeps her eyes shut, perhaps to give the impression that she was still out of it.

"She remembers hearing his belt after he had finished. She is near home now."

Mr Janes said that her neighbours had heard her door slam when she got into her house and then hearing "some disturbance" they had gone around to her house to see if she was OK.

He added: "She says, straight away, she has been raped.

"She then goes on to speak to some friends of hers and they have the good sense to tell her to go to the police and not to have a shower or a bath."

The woman was examined and Akram's DNA was found on her.

But before the test results came back, Akram, 32, of Beech Street, Burton, was arrested and interviewed – he denied the offence and answered "no comment" to all the questions put to him.

The trial continues.


Read more: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Taxi-dr ... z3lKCUh2oI

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

How much room is there in this car for her to have got on top of him between him and the steering wheel?

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Grandad,

Not a deal, he's guilty as hell.

Taxi driver jailed for raping passenger who fell asleep in cab


A taxi driver who raped a passenger after she fell asleep in his cab has been jailed for 10 years.

Derbyshire Police praised the bravery of the victim in giving evidence against Shanzad Akram, who was found guilty by a jury after denying the offence.

Derby Crown Court was told that the woman, who is in her 20s, awoke to find Akram attacking her as she returned home from a night out in Burton-on-Trent last year.

Akram, 32, of Beech Street, Burton, was also ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely, Derbyshire Police said.

Detective Constable Peter Robinson said: "It's been a year since the attack took place and it's understandably been a very difficult and upsetting time for the victim.

"She has been extremely brave, not just for coming forward but for taking to the witness stand. Her strength in giving evidence no doubt helped to convict Akram.

"She was also very well supported by her friends and family throughout and I hope she is satisfied with the sentence and can hopefully start to move on with her life."

source: http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/taxi-dr ... 4003972904

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

Father of victim of Burton rapist taxi driver 'disgusted' at £8,000 compensation


The family of a woman raped by a taxi driver has said £8,000 compensation awarded to her is an "insult" after her life has been turned "upside down".

After a night out in Burton, the woman, in her 20s and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was attacked by Shanzad Akram after she had been put into his taxi while asleep. Akram drove his victim down a lane and then climbed on top of her and raped her.

Akram was later jailed for 10 years in September 2015 after he was convicted of the rape in 2012, which took place near the young woman's home in Woodville. The father of his victim has now spoken out to say his daughter has attempted suicide five times since the rape and has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as she struggles to put her life back together.

Now, she has been "left in bits" after she was awarded just £8,000 in compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

Her father, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, said: "We are absolutely astounded at the compensation issued. I was awarded £4,500 for a minor injury a few years ago but £8,000 is disgusting for turning her life upside down and she will have the after-effects of this for the rest of her life.

"She was told she could get up to £40,000 because of the nature of the offence but money doesn't make things go away. However, the money would benefit her by giving her more stability in her life. £8,000 is an insult. She is in bits. We will be appealing the compensation."

The woman has not been able to look after her child and has lost her job and her home since the attack. Her father, who said the fall-out has also had an effect on his business, added: "She smashed her home up after the attack and she couldn't go back to her home so she had to vacate. The council never rehoused her and she had been bed-surfing.

"She has packed in her job and hasn't been able to have her child because of her mindset. She has tried to kill herself five times and has been diagnosed with PTSD and underwent counselling privately as the NHS waiting list was too long.

"She has received threats and bullying and will now never get in a taxi on her own because of what happened. She has been up and down like a yo-yo."

Talking about the attack, the young woman's father said: "She was asleep. She was put in the car by her friends and he took her down a lane and she woke up with him on top of her. He then had the audacity to drop her home.

"She doesn't remember everything because she was asleep. She did everything correctly. She blames herself for what happened and we have thought about sectioning her."

After he was jailed, Akram attempted to challenge the length of his sentence, claiming the term was far too tough because he should not be blamed for the psychological problems of his victim. But his challenge failed after the Appeal Court judge ruled "that this serious offence had, at the very least, made a substantial contribution to the severe psychological harm she had suffered".

Incredibly, Akram had claimed that she had been an "enthusiastic participant" in the sex.

The Court of Appeal heard the victim was drunk when she left the club in 2012 and was put into Akram's taxi by a member of staff. She awoke to find him on top of her and having sex with her but managed to escape to a friend's house from which police were called.

READ MORE: NAMED AND SHAMED: Photo of Burton rapist jailed for 10 years released for the first time

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) issued the compensation amount and a spokesman said: "This is a truly shocking assault - we deeply sympathise with all victims of such heinous crimes.

"While we cannot comment on individual cases, we pay compensation under a fixed tariff system set by Parliament.

"In serious cases, we can also compensate victims for loss of earnings, medical or care costs. If applicants feel their case was not fairly assessed, they can apply for a review or even take their case to an independent tribunal."

How compensation is calculated

The value of the award for an injury is based on a tariff which has been agreed by Parliament. The CICA has no discretion in deciding the level of the award - it must be based on the tariff.

The scheme includes clear eligibility criteria. In order to qualify for an award:

There must have been a crime of violence;

The incident must have taken place in England, Scotland or Wales (Northern Ireland has their own scheme); and

The level of injury received must be sufficiently serious to qualify for the minimum payment (currently £1,000).

Awards under the scheme range from £1,000 to £250,000. The tariff payment for a single incident of rape is £11,000. In some severe cases, the CICA may be able to compensate for loss of earnings or special expenses, such as medical expenses. The highest award it can make in any case, including both the tariff payment and these additional elements, is £500,000.

Read more at http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/victim-of-b ... Wpl1zDl.99

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

I don't remember this bit from the trial. Who on earth puts someone who is asleep in a taxi alone. What [edited by admin] of a taxi driver would accept a sleeping passenger. I think whoever it was that put her in the taxi needs to take some of the responsibility for putting the girl in such danger.

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Grandad,

[quote="captain cab"]Father of victim of Burton rapist taxi driver 'disgusted' at £8,000 compensation


The family of a woman raped by a taxi driver has said £8,000 compensation awarded to her is an "insult" after her life has been turned "upside down".



Her father, who cannot be named to protect his daughter's identity, said: "We are absolutely astounded at the compensation issued. I was awarded £4,500 for a minor injury a few years ago but £8,000 is disgusting for turning her life upside down and she will have the after-effects of this for the rest of her life.


Maybe if people like her father didn't claim for 'minor ' injuries (his words, not mine) there would be more money available and it would speed the whole system up with quicker payouts.

i know i shouldn't laugh but i cant understand "trying " to kill yourself? easiest thing in the world if you want to do it thb,

i remember the time i was getting really severe headaches, lasted for days & thought fook this im going to end it all, i cant stand it any more, so decided to overdose on paracetamol, opened them up, only took 2 , felt great ,

Taking Paracetamol is not a good way to kill yourself. I knew a chap who took about 50 of them trying to kill himself. A couple of hours later he changed his mind. It took him about 3 days to die and he was in pure agony as his organs shut down one by one.

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Grandad,

it was a joke mate

Yes, that seems about right for you. People who feel so bad about life that they want to kill themselves and you treat it as a joke. SICK!

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Grandad,

Consider how they get into that kind of situation - normally around debt, and debt collection agencies and pressure of them

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

or being the victim of rape

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector