Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver cleared of sex attack charges

A FATHER and long-serving taxi driver has spoken of his relief after being cleared of sexual assault charges. Khalid Khan, from Three Bridges,was forced to give up his livelihood in March 2006 when a drunk woman accused him of attacking her in his taxi.

He has spent the last 18 months maintaining his innocence while his reputation as a "helpful and polite" taxi driver was dragged through the mud. The 42-year-old's hellish ordeal finally ended last week when a jury took just over 30 minutes to reach a not guilty verdict at Brighton Law Courts.

But despite the verdict Crawley Borough Council refused to confirm it would be giving Khan - who has worked as a taxi driver for 18 years - his licence back, after it expired during the case.

Speaking after the verdict on Friday, Mr Khan, who has no previous convictions, said: "The police have been after me from the start. I haven't been able to work as a taxi driver since I was arrested. "I am relieved it is all over and now I just want to get on with my life."

During the week-long trial, the jury heard how the woman claimed Mr Khan, who worked for Metro Cars and Alpha Cars, picked her up from Three Bridges station in the early hours of March 29, 2006 and drove her towards Burgess Hill via a rural route.

The accuser said he dragged her from the front of his people carrier to the back, and pulled her trousers and knick-ers down. The prosecution said the woman woke to find the taxi driver on top of her kissing her breasts and had bruising on her ribs the next day.

But Mr Khan, who cares for his disabled sister at their home in West Way, told the court the woman got into his taxi and then asked him for a "nice cuddle". He said: "I nudged her because she was dozy. She said 'it is nice in here, I would like a nice cuddle.' I asked her if she was sure and she said it again.

"I got into the back and we embraced. She kissed me and I touched her breast. It felt nice but I became nervous. I didn't want to carry on but I didn't think I had done anything wrong."

The court heard how Mr Khan, who is single with one son, drove the woman to the home she shared with her gay partner in Burgess Hill.

Her partner later called the police who then arrested Mr Khan at Three Bridges station the next day. Defence witness Marla Rowland, office manager at Metro Cars, told the court all drivers take the Balcombe Road route to Haywards Heath, instead of the A23, because it is cheaper for the customer.

She said she had never had any complaints about Mr Khan and said customers often said he was polite and helpful. After he was found not guilty, Mr Khan was told he was free to leave the court.

No evidence was offered in the case of another woman, who alleged Mr Khan sexually assaulted her in February last year. A warrant was issued for her arrest after she failed to attend the trial to give evidence.

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IDFIMH

Methinks he shouldn't get his license back.

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IDFIMH

He should have known better I think he may find the phrase "not a fit and proper person" a lot in his future.

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Obviously he will appeal and the magistrates decision will be interesting. Which way will it go?

Regards

JD

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So he managed to drag her from the front to the back, pull her trousers and knickers down and she was still asleep?

So presumably she was blottoed, so difficult to find her evidence reliable?

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Taxi Driver Online
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Yes. Not very reliable. The statement his LA will be interested in will be his own

dont you think?

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Yes, but are there any other instances of this being considered by councillors or case law? Ie are consensual intimate relations between a driver and passenger grounds for striking him off?

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Taxi Driver Online
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Not sure. I suppose it would come down to the LA's interpretation of "fit and proper"

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It's certainly unprofessional.

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Three Points

1. Get a CCTV in your cab to protect yourself from false accusations

2. In the Crawley Observer it says " Patricia May , defending, said there was nothing to support the allegations..............there is no sweat hair fibres, anything to support (the allegation). Infact there was nothing that was picked up to match Mr Khan's DNA at all. ............... (she) added "from the moment police came to see him to make enquiries he did not try to deny the incident and gave a totally consistent account"

3. He was however very foolish

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Our safety is Paramount

One of my drivers foolishly responded to a drunk teenager flirting with him on the way home ! He spent a couple of days in a cell being questioned by the police and his wife threatened to divorce him !! No charges resulted however and the driver no longer works nights to keep his wife happy

the thing that puzzles me though is that certainly in our area the LO takes the attitude that he does not have the power to suspend a license before the court case so drivers under investigation are allowed to continue working at least until they are found guilty even when in a couple of cases the offences were/are pretty serious so why has he not been able to work ?

That was the case untill this summer when part of the 2006 Road Safety Act came into force. This section now allows LOs to suspend untill the courts have decided on the case.

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IDFIMH

Perhaps our LO needs reminding of that then I can think of a certain reckless local taxi driver who recently killed a motorcyclist he has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving but is still driving taxis and at HIGH SPEED

A friend of mine was accused of rape in 2001. The police arrested him and questioned him at length. He admitted having sex with the woman but claimed it was consensual. What evidence there was tended to support his side of things. No charge was ever brought against him. The police objected to his licence, when it came up for renewal (2002). A council meeting was set up to decide on his renewal. He was allowed to continue driving for weeks after the incident, until a month before the meeting when his licence was suspended pending the outcome. I drove his cab for the month and was stopped on several occasions by police hoping to catch him breaking the suspension, until I threatened to bring a case of harassment if I were stopped again without good cause. The council kangaroo court refused his renewal for the usual "fit and proper" reasons, and 4 months later (2002) refused the renewal of his cab for the same reasons.
I advised him to go to court to get his licences back, but he did not.

2 years later (2004) he re-applied for his badge. Police objected again and after resitting and passing the council knowledge test the council refused his application.

My questions are:

1 How long can the police continue to object to his application, considering he was never charged, let alone convicted of anything? He has no criminal record at all, not even an unpaid parking ticket!

2 By the time he took my advice and got himself a solicitor (2004), he was told he had left it to late and should have challenged the council decision at the time.
How does he stand now if he re-applies and is refused again?

3 Did the council act properly in refusing his renewals and subsequent re-aplication?

He knows he acted foolishly and I doubt he would do it again.
In the eyes of the law he is an innocent man.

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The police will object all the time they know your mate will not challenge them in the courts.

He must apply again, and if he gets refused get the reasons for the refusal and go to court over it.

I can't believe any proper court will refuse his appeal if the facts are what you say.

And I have no reason to doubt that, I would like to say.

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IDFIMH