Taxi Driver Online

Maybe it's just me, but worth reading this carefully to see the full extent of the misbehavior justifying three months in jail


The perverted Hull taxi driver who befriended lone women at night

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... ho-6905983

He has now been jailed

A perverted Hull taxi driver targeted lone women at night and tried to sexually assault them.

Khairul Ehsan, 43, targeted one of his victims in the early hours of July 23, 2019, after she had failed to get a cab by contacting a number of taxi companies while on a night out in Hull city centre, a court heard. Ehsan had provided her with his personal mobile number after giving her a taxi ride home some months earlier, saying she should contact him rather than the taxi office if ever she needed a taxi in future.

As they approached the victim’s address, Ehsan pulled the taxi over and made sexual advances to her by trying to kiss her. Shocked and disgusted, the victim escaped from the taxi and retreated to her home, reporting the incident to the police three days later.

During the course of their investigations, police discovered that this was not the first time Ehsan’s behaviour had caused concern. Three further incidents of the taxi driver making suggestive remarks and advances towards young female passengers came to light.

Jeremy Evans, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Khairul Ehsan deliberately targeted this young woman, late at night when she was alone. His behaviour left her feeling shocked and disgusted and the victim did the right thing in reporting this matter to the police.

"Three incidents of this man behaving in a similar concerning way have also been brought to light as a result of the police investigation. This incident make clear that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. We will always prosecute cases of this kind if our legal tests have been met.”

Appearing at Hull Crown Court on Monday, Ehsan was jailed for three months. He will now be subject to the requirements of the sex offender’s register for seven years.

Maybe one of the other incidents went further than this one ?

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

Certainly doesn't read like the other incidents went further:


And, in any case, it looks like he was only tried for the one incident

Of course, it might have been a lot worse than the article makes it sound, but as described three months in jail seems a bit much

Compare this that was published at the weekend. The incident at the start is about licensing councillor Rhiannon Spear - the one who was in arrears with her council tax.

Anyway, comparing this to the driver in Hull, the other councillor involved should surely have been thrown in jail for several months.

But it reads like there was no police action. So either Glasgow police and prosecutors very lenient compared to those in Hull, or Cllr Spears' version of events wasn't considered credible in the same way the victim in Hull was


SNP councillor Rhiannon Spear called police after 'harassment' from married colleague

https://www.thenational.scot/news/20039 ... colleague/

AN SNP politician who was “followed” to her car by a married councillor who consistently “wanted to touch and hug her” ended up having to call the police.

Councillor Rhiannon Spear, SNP, has said she was “scared for her safety” after being harassed by the man from another party.

It came as female councillors called for an end to the “toxic” atmosphere in politics at a full Glasgow City Council meeting yesterday.

Her SNP colleague, Councillor Jen Layden, the city’s convener for equalities and human rights, added: “Being told that you can ‘squeeze by me anytime’ is disgusting, and going on Twitter and telling female councillors you know where they live is just creepy.

“Every male councillor in this chamber really has to reflect on their behaviour.”

The pair are among a number of female councillors stepping down ahead of May’s elections. They were speaking as the council passed a motion, brought by Labour councillor Maggie McTernan, on the “worrying trend” of women leaving, or not standing for election in, local politics.

Recounting her experience, Councillor Spear said: “Within the first few months of being elected, a married male councillor consistently wanted to touch and hug me in my professional workplace.

“He wanted my personal number, he invited me out for dates. When I challenged him, he followed me to my car to the point where I was scared for my safety and had to call the police.

“When I raised it with his party, I was told that it was his word against mine but they would have a word with him and that a line was drawn under it.”

She added: “When you ridicule and patronise me for being passionate about women’s issues in this chamber, it does nothing but expose you for the misogynists that you are.

“It allows you to uphold the old boys’ club that has been going on in this chamber for decades. I am so happy that I am leaving on my terms.”

Councillor Layden said the culture in the City Chamber is “woefully poor”. “We have had female councillors have to go to the police, have to go to court, not be able to attend surgeries because of their own personal safety.

“It is people in this chamber, it is male councillors that are using language, and putting it in the press, and putting it on social media, that puts us at risk. Being called ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ is unacceptable, I am a councillor.”

She hopes training for councillors on misogyny and violence against women will be prioritised.

Councillor Aileen McKenzie, Labour, said council leader Susan Aitken had a stalker, who was tried and convicted, yet “was ruthlessly pursued by small men over the use of taxis for her own personal safety”. She criticised the “toxic” environment and accused some male councillors of “aggressive, misogynistic behaviour.”

Bailie Dr Soryia Siddique, Labour, said Muslim women “face even more discrimination”. She asked: “Is it acceptable that I am the only elected woman of colour in the largest authority in Scotland and sometimes the only diverse voice at meetings in the most diverse ward in Scotland?

“When we elect representatives that look and have similar lived experiences as the communities they represent, we make better decisions.”

SNP Councillor Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, who also won’t seek re-election, said: “When seeking selection in 2015, a member of my own branch expressed concern that with three young kids, how would I be able to cope with council as well?

“I assured him that having raised three children under five, I could do just about anything. It was light-hearted but it stayed with me as a reminder that those attitudes are still there.”

The Langside councillor said it had been “deeply fulfilling” to show her children “what it means to believe that things can be better and be part of making that change”.

Councillor Kim Long, Greens, won’t seek re-election, and she believes local councillors pay is the “single biggest barrier to gender balance in local government.”

“The allowance when I was elected was £17k and given Scottish councillors work on average 37 hours a week, we literally do not earn a living.

“People who are more likely to experience poverty, including BAME people, trans people and disabled people, are further from being able to take on a job with low pay and because women’s greater care responsibilities leave a finite number of hours for earning an income, we are ruled out from doing or staying in this job.”

Councillor McTernan, who is also stepping down, said: “Women are half the population and this should be reflected in our council chambers. This matters because our councils do not reflect the lived experience of the people they seek to represent.

“If we want more women in councils then we need to listen to women, to listen to why they are not standing or why they are standing down and we need to address the range of barriers that we face.”

A report on any necessary changes to council policy to help remove barriers to elected office will now be produced after Councillor McTernan’s motion was passed.

Three months for the driver doesn't seem that harsh.

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/of ... l-assault/

I put it at a 3A which has a starting point of 6 months custody.

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IDFIMH

Been waiting all day for Sussex to quote the Sentencing Council guidelines

Which is all very well, but, for example, there must be hundreds of similar offences taking place in pubs and nightclubs every weekend of the year, for example.

And, for example, if the Ched Evans scenario is considered rape by some, then to that exent there must be industrial scale rape taking place in the UK all the time.

I'm all for zero tolerance, but like how the approach stuff in the taxi trade, it needs to be consistent rather than the arbitrary and performative approach that seems to happen a lot of the time.

(As portrayed, the driver should certainly have been revoked, but on the information provided in the article, in my opinion it's certainly not clear that he deserved three months in jail. Of course, there may be a lot more to it than is portrayed, and 'suggestive remarks and advances' could cover all manner of things.)

Indeed, but as I said it was a 3A offense, in my view.

The A part is the serious bit, in that this attack or attacks were planned.

Most of the incidents you allude to are not planned, they are more 'spur of the moment' incidents.

Which would make them Bs.

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IDFIMH

A bit more on this. Does sound a bit more full on in the description below than in the earlier article.

Worth reading some of the details, though. In fact kind of reminds me of the reply I was going to make to Sussex's post, but can't be bothered at the moment


Hull taxi driver tried to molest me in his minivan - victim of jailed Khairul Ehsan reveals horror drive home

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hu ... st-6908291

The 24-year-old woman has spoken out to raise awareness and encourage anyone who has been a victim of an assault to report it to police


Image: Hull Daily Mail

A young Hull woman has told how a predatory taxi driver tried to sexually assault her as he gave her a lift home after a night out.

The 24-year-old bravely spoke out as Khairul Ehsan, 43, was jailed for three months after after Hull Crown Court heard he lunged at her as she travelled home in his min-van taxi. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for seven years. Police also believe three other lone young women were targeted by Ehsan in his cab, although he was not charged in relation to those.

The victim described how she first met Ehsan when he had picked her up with friends in Hull city centre. She recalls how he was friendly and offered to help her out if she ever needed a taxi in future.

The woman said: "I was complaining to him about the night out as there had been a couple of things that had upset me and he was really nice about it. We got chatting about how it is always a struggle to get a taxi in Hull on a night out and he gave me his number and told me to call him if I ever needed a lift if he was working.

"He messaged me a couple of times asking me how I was. He would say things like 'hey sexy' and 'can't wait to see your sexy face', but I just thought it was harmless banter.

It was on the night on June 22, 2019, when things took a sinister turn. The woman said: "I had been on a night out in Propaganda and he picked me up from a takeaway in Paragon Square. Usually I always sit in the back of a taxi, but because I felt like I knew him and had spoken to him before I decided to sit in the front. He was driving a mini-van so there were a few spaces in the front and I sat in the far left.

"I finished eating my takeaway and asked him if he could stop off at a cash machine on the way as I didn't have any money on me, but he wouldn't stop. I realised he was driving the long way around to get to my address. When we finally stopped he then put his arm around me. He then tried to kiss me and the next thing I knew, his face was on mine.

"I couldn't get out of the car as he was over the top of me and in my way. He then started grabbing at my boobs. I kept saying 'no', but he ignored me. I don't know how I did it, but I somehow managed to unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the taxi. I was absolutely terrified. I was scared he was going to come after me."

The woman confided in her neighbour about the incident and persuaded her to go to the police. She said: "I didn't know if I was going to be taken seriously and that it was just my word against his, but I told my neighbour and she encouraged me to go straight to the police - and I am so glad I did. They have been amazing and really supported me throughout the whole thing."

The incident has had a lasting impact on the young woman. She said: "For about a year, I could not even get in a taxi. I was scared that it would be him driving it. I would always check the texts from taxi companies when I eventually felt up to getting a taxi just to make sure it wasn't his car."

Appearing at Hull Crown Court on Monday, Ehsan, of Navigation Way, Hull, was found guilty of attempted sexual assault and jailed for three months. Ehsan had denied the charge. He will now be subject to the requirements of the sex offender’s register for seven years.

During the course of their investigations, Humberside Police discovered that this was not the first time Ehsan’s behaviour had caused concern. Three further alleged incidents of the taxi driver making suggestive remarks and advances towards young female passengers came to light, the court was told.

Jeremy Evans, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Khairul Ehsan deliberately targeted this young woman, late at night when she was alone. His behaviour left her feeling shocked and disgusted and the victim did the right thing in reporting this matter to the police.

"Three incidents of this man behaving in a similar concerning way have also been brought to light as a result of the police investigation. This incident make clear that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. We will always prosecute cases of this kind if our legal tests have been met.”

The woman says she is glad Ehsan is now behind bars. She said: "I am relieved he is now in prison, even if it is for a short time. The main thing is that he is not allowed to have a taxi licence again and he cannot do this to anyone else."


Image: Hull Daily Mail

So if he "started grabbing at my boobs" why was it just *attempted* sexual assault?

And I wonder precisely how the other three incidents 'came to light' during the police investigation?

No such offense as attempted sexual assault, he was charged and convicted of sexual assault.

The other incidents may have come to light following his first charge, or via a trawl of his mobile.

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IDFIMH

That difference sounds a bit too neat and tidy like the public/private hire split and topo tests, which as you yourself say isn't quite as neat and tidy in reality.

For example, last week took these three young women (pretty sure they'd all still be teenagers) from St Andrews to Anstruther before midnight. They all sat in the back, which is a pretty normal trait for female students here, and isn't such a normal trait for passengers more generally (thought Covid might have changed that scenario a bit, in that people more generally would be more inclined to go in the back, but not sure if it has).

Anyway, one of them wanted me to come back down to Anstruther in a couple of hours, and take her along to Elie. Which I did, and she got in the front, and was very chatty. That was midweek, about 1.30am, took about 15 minutes, mostly on country roads, and it was so quiet I can't recall if we actually saw another vehicle during the drive.

Anyway, if it had been Mr Hull Driver, could just about imagine him trying to take advantage. But I wouldn't view it as something pre-planned in the way that the Bristol accountant was with his fake taxi, for example. Of course, it all might depend how and why the Hull driver got into taxi driving in the first place, but that we'll probably never know.

But thanks for the clarification on the 'attempted sexual assault'. Did think that sounded very implausible.

As regards how the other three incidents came to light, you may be right about the mobile phone records.

But I'm wondering if maybe complaints had previously been made to licensing (or even police), but nothing had been done

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, and it's maybe the press who effectively brushed over it, but it almost reads like they're trying to brush over the fact that something might/should have been done earlier.

what I want to hear is that he has been extradited back to his country of birth

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