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PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2021 9:32 pm 
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Taxi driver on trial accused of raping female passenger after picking her up from night out

A taxi driver has gone on trial accused of raping and sexually assaulting a passenger.

Naveed Raja, 48, is accused of attacking the drunk woman after picking her up from a night out in Redcar.

Teesside Crown Court heard how he was working for Club Cars at the time of the alleged offences.

Matthew Bean, prosecuting, told the jury how Raja collected the "heavily intoxicated" victim from Redcar High Street as a fare.

He said that he then stopped his vehicle on a country lane or a lay-by where he committed the serious sexual assaults.

Mr Bean told the court how the woman, who was in the passenger seat, remembers Raja removing her clothing and sexually assaulting her.

He said that she also recalled him climbing over the central console in the vehicle, getting on top of her and raping her.

The prosecutor said: "She can recall simply wishing to go home and being unable to move."

The jury heard how Raja had logged off from work, more than an hour before he picked up the woman.

Mr Bean told the court that it must have been "obvious" to him that she was very drunk.

He said: "(The complainant) will tell you she has no recollection of any conversation with the defendant.

"Instead he decided to park up the taxi and engage in sexual acts."

Mr Bean said that the woman was in no position to stop him, during the alleged attack in January 2019.

The court heard how she later became aware that the taxi driver was generally known as 'Roger'.

The jury heard how the offences were reported to police and Raja was arrested.

Mr Bean said the defendant told police during his interview that "she wasn't that drunk".

He said Raja claimed to have stopped the vehicle to urinate and said she wanted to have sex with him.

Mr Bean said: "He suggested that she was trying to unzip his trousers."

He told the jury how Raja claims they engaged in consensual sex and it was initiated by the woman.

Mr Bean added: "The prosecution say, when considering all of the evidence, you can find the defendant's account to be a lie."

Raja, of Lansdowne Road, Middlesbrough, is charged with rape and sexual assault.

He denies both offences and is being tried by a jury at the court in Middlesbrough.

The trial continues.

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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 5:10 am 
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He said Raja claimed to have stopped the vehicle to urinate and said she wanted to have sex with him.


really :---)

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PostPosted: Wed May 05, 2021 4:44 pm 
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Quote:
He said that she also recalled him climbing over the central console in the vehicle, getting on top of her and raping her.

Quote:
He said Raja claimed to have stopped the vehicle to urinate and said she wanted to have sex with him.

Must be difficult to write stuff like this accurately and in fluent prose, particularly in view of the contempt of court stuff, etc.

But, and maybe it's just me, there seems to be a bit more of he/him/her/she than is usual, which makes it difficult to read precisely.

And although the above two quotes are slightly out of context, the 'he' referred to at the start of the sentence is the prosecution lawyer.

Stuff like this often informally referred to as 'he said/she said', and certainly seems very like that here :?


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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 3:59 am 
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Posted this in the wrong thread a couple of days ago, so many readers will have already seen it :?

I just skim read the piece, so put it in the thread about the Boro driver, but:

- both cases heard at around the same time;

- both cases at Teesside Crown Court;

- both cases reported on the Gazette Live/Teesside Live website;

- both cases arose from pick-ups a few miles either side of Middlesbrough;

- both cases broadly similar as regards the facts;

- both drivers also live in Middlesbrough, and potentially as close as 200m from each other, although only street names are reported rather than including house numbers, so because one of the streets in particular is quite long, they're probably a bit further apart than that :?

(The street names only is I think another contempt of court thing - when you read court cases like this it's common to provide street names for the accused, but never house numbers.)

However, if one important fact had been different I might have quickly realised which case was which, but I'd better not say what... :-$ 8-[


Taxi driver accused of raping female passenger claims sex was consensual

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... e-20539602

Naveed Raja is accused of attacking the drunk woman after picking her up in Redcar

A taxi driver accused of raping and sexually assaulting a passenger has said they had consensual sex.

Naveed Raja is accused of attacking the drunk woman after picking her up from a night out in Redcar in January 2019 and is currently standing trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Raja, of Lansdowne Road, Middlesbrough, is charged with rape and sexual assault.

He denies both charges.

The court had previously heard that the 48-year-old was working for Club Cars at the time of the alleged offences.

This week, prosecutor Matthew Bean told the jury how Raja collected the "heavily intoxicated" woman from Redcar High Street as a fare.

It is alleged that Raja then stopped his vehicle on a country lane or a lay-by where he committed the serious sexual assaults.

On Thursday, the jury heard evidence from Raja, who claims he had known the woman and said the sex was consensual.

Raja told the jury that during the taxi journey, the woman began "kissing me and throwing her legs across the driver seat".

"The horn beeped twice and I told her to stop", he said.

"I said you can't do that and pushed her away."

Raja claims the woman began to "unzip" his jeans, before he told her to "stop messing about".

"She tried to grab my hand and put it between her legs, she said 'I want you to do it'", he said.

Defence barrister, Rod Hunt, asked Raja: "Did you have sexual intercourse with her?"

"Yes, I did", Raja replied, "but I would never do anything like that without consent."

Mr Hunt asked how long it lasted, with Raja saying around "two minutes" before he said he then drove off and took her home.

Raja told the jury that upon dropping the alleged victim off at her home, she gave him a "kiss and a cuddle".

The trial continues.


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PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2021 3:45 am 
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Another problem with press reporting, ironically from the same area and in the same publication as the pedestrian fatality inquest.

So what happened to this case? Did it reach a conclusion, or has it been delayed from some reason?

Problem is that the press might not have reported it, either way, so we don't know, and it's just a thread on here that might just disappear without being concluded.

And another problem with the *online* reports we read on here is that they might be reported in the print edition, but not make it online.

Not sure about the Gazette here, but pretty sure the Dundee newspapers just put a selection of their articles online, so it can be slightly hit or miss if you're relying on the website version, particularly if you're specifically looking for an update on an earlier story :?


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:23 pm 
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Quote:
So what happened to this case? Did it reach a conclusion, or has it been delayed from some reason?

Who knows why it didn't reach a conclusion, but for whatever reason it didn't.

However it appears to be back on again now.

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... g-23735323

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:17 pm 
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Taxi driver accused of rape leaves court a free man as jury fails to reach verdict

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... source=nba

Image

A taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting and raping a female passenger has left court a free man after being cleared of one offence and no verdict being reached in the second.

Naveed Raja had been accused of carrying out the sex attack after picking up the fare from Redcar High Street, after clocking off from his shift with Club Cars. However the 48-year-old was found not guilty of the assault and a jury at Teesside Crown Court also failed to reach a majority verdict on the rape charge after four hours of deliberation on Monday.

The jury were discharged by the judge and Raja left court a free man - telling Teesside Live he was going home to celebrate his son's birthday.

The taxi driver, of Lansdowne Road, Longlands, Middlesbrough, had denied both offences. He was flagged down by the woman's friend who paid £6.50 and asked him to take her home. Raja told the court that he agreed to stop for the woman because he knew her passenger and her friend from previous taxi journeys.

He said that shortly after driving off, the woman undid his trousers and performed a sex act on him and then initiated sex, allegedly telling him "Don't worry, I want to do it".

Raja said they had sex but insisted that the woman was fine when he dropped her off at home around 6am: ""She seemed ok. She gave me a kiss and a cuddle before she got out.

"She said 'I'll see you next weekend, I'll be out. But don't tell my boyfriend'.

But the alleged victim told court that she was sexually assaulted and then raped by Raja in his taxi whilst in a layby a few miles out of Redcar. The woman wept as she recalled telling her boyfriend what she says happened.

Her boyfriend also gave evidence during the trial: "She was teary-eyed, huddled in a ball and covering her face. Eventually she said 'Something happened last night'.

I asked her if it would be easier for her to type it out on her phone then tell me. "She typed out 'something happened with me and the taxi driver'.

I asked her has he raped you - she nodded and became hysterical. I asked her if I could call the police. Sometime after 10am I called the police".

The woman said she had been out drinking with friends that night, before leaving a nightclub around 4.30 in the morning. She tested positive for cocaine the next day, but said she had no recollection of taking the drug the night before.

The CPS will decide whether to request a retrial within 14 days.

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