Uber driver sexually assaulted student after driving her homehttps://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... t-32812345An Uber driver sexually assaulted a passenger after driving her back to her home and asking her for a hug. He would later sexually assault another woman after offering to give her a piggy back down some stairs.
Amanuale Mebrahtu, 28, was working as a driver when he picked up the first victim, a student who had been on a night out in Cardiff city centre. She had made an order for a driver through Uber and the defendant was instructed to drive her to her home.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard the victim had been drinking but was not intoxicated.
During the journey, Mebrahtu asked the woman general questions and she told him she had a boyfriend, but his questions became more sexual in nature and he asked her if she wanted to "sleep around with other men".
The victim felt uncomfortable when the defendant turned round in his seat and "searched over with his eyes".
When they arrived at her address, Mebrahtu asked her for a hug and she agreed, thinking this would be the quickest way of getting away from him.
But when the defendant hugged the victim, he groped her bottom. She was in shock and pulled away from him.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Matthew Porter-Bryant said Mebrahtu went on to ask the victim if he could go inside her house or if she would get back inside his car.
Upon going inside her house alone the victim noticed the defendant remained outside the property in his car for five minutes before driving off.
The sexual assault was reported to Uber and the police, but Mebrahtu sent a friend request to the victim on Snapchat, which made her feel more anxious.
In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Laurence Jones, the victim said: "This has impacted me in a number of ways, much greater than I initially thought.
"I was in the defendant's taxi terrified and sensed something was not right because of what he was saying, the eye contact and his body language. I felt very uncomfortable and worried about getting out of the taxi...
"I felt scared if I did not hug him he would get angry... I felt shocked at what had happened and could not believe he would not listen to me tell him no and the brazen way he would not relent as he asked me to do really shocking things.
"After he left, I felt really dirty. I had a really visceral reaction to him touching me and had a shower before going to bed. I felt really embarrassed... I tried to put the incident to the back of my mind but the memory of what happened affected how I behaved.
"I was careful not to be alone and was afraid when I had to take a taxi. I checked the profile of Uber drivers to make sure it was not him and warned friends about him as well. I was hyper vigilant...
"I am disgusted by what he did to me, he targeted me because I was on my own and vulnerable... This was a moment in time for him but this experience has overshadowed me for over a year, a year where I should have been focusing on university work and planning for my future. The incident will remain with me for the rest of my life."
Mebrahtu assaulted his second victim after following her and her group of friends in his car as they walked away from Cardiff city centre. The victim appeared intoxicated and was targeted by the defendant.
Having anticipated the way she would walk, Mebrahtu got out of his car and approached the victim to offer her a piggy back down some stairs.
She believed the offer was genuine and relented, but upon reaching the bottom of the stairs he carried on walking and asked her if she wanted to get into his taxi.
He then placed his hands under her dress and touched her vagina, penetrating her with his fingers as he did so before running off.
The victim's friends gave chase after the defendant but he managed to escape. He was later identified on CCTV and was found to have followed the victim and her friends for one-and-a-half hours.
In her victim personal statement, the second victim said: "My life has been impacted in a number of ways and I am undergoing therapy counselling sessions.... It has changed how I view the world and interactions with others. I am constantly on edge, on high alert and taking notice of my surroundings...
"I am both physically and mentally exhausted. Simple tasks I did without a thought are more difficult and I am filled with anxiety and dread.
"The defendant took advantage of me when I was in an extremely vulnerable state. I am unable to trust new people and struggle to develop new friendships. I am only comfortable with people I trust implicitly. I was taken away from the safety of my friends and violated. It has set me back in life and I feel like a wall has been built up around me."
Mebrahtu, of Picton Place, Canton, was convicted of assault by penetration and sexual assault. The court heard he was of previous good character.
In mitigation, Andrew Kendal said his client had provided a lot of help to his community and to his church and was a support to both his mother and sister, who has medical issues.
Sentencing, Judge Porter-Bryant said: "You regularly came into contact with young females who had been out socialising and drinking. You were meant to represent a means of returning home safely. You were meant to be a protective factor, not a person young females needed to be protected from."
Mebrahtu was sentenced to seven years and three months imprisonment, with an extended licence period of three years.
The defendant was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely.
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