A taxi driver who sexually assaulted a young woman he picked up from a night out has been jailed.
According to NottinghamshireLive, Khalil Lali targeted the victim after he picked her up from Nottingham city centre on September 20 last year.
As she sat in the front seat of the car, Lali repeatedly grabbed her hand and forcefully held it on the front of his trousers.
The victim was able to flee the vehicle close to her home but was also able to record a brief video showing the make of her attacker's car and the number plate.
The following morning the 44-year-old was arrested and denied the allegations against him. He even claimed during a police interview that it was the victim who had initiated the contact in lieu of payment.
However, this was contradicted by CCTV evidence which showed that the contact had occurred earlier in the journey as he drove through the city centre.
Lali, from Forest Fields, Nottingham, denied a single charge of sexual assault but was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court.
He appeared at the court again on Friday September 15, for sentencing and was jailed for three years and four months.
Detective Constable Rory Greer, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an appalling attack by a man who – as a licensed taxi driver – was in a position of trust over his victim.
"Lali clearly thought he could behave in this way without consequence but hadn’t reckoned on the quick-thinking and tenacity of his victim.
“Although she was understandably distraught at what had happened to her, she still had the presence of mind to record crucial details of Lali’s vehicle that allowed us to place him at the scene.
"She really did an amazing job and I am full of admiration for her. I am pleased that Lali has been bought to justice and won’t be able to target any other women in this way in the future.
“I also hope this case serves to encourage other victims of sexual assaults to come forward. We will investigate and will take positive action to protect the public from harm.”
Source: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/taxi-driver-who-sexually-assaulted-8765260
A taxi driver licensed by Stratford-on-Avon District Council has been suspended for 14 days by the council's Licensing Panel, for failing to report driving convictions on his driver renewal application form.
The Licensing Panel Committee meeting, where this case was discussed and resolved, took place on Wednesday 6 September.
The driver, licensed for 11 years, failed to inform the authority of these convictions and did not disclose these convictions as required on two subsequent renewal applications submitted by him.
The convictions had occurred when the driver was not on duty as a taxi driver and although he had not been disqualified by the court, a total of 12 points had accrued on his licence.
The council's Policy and Conditions for Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers states: 'the proprietor of a licensed vehicle should notify the council in writing of any conviction or caution recorded against him or of any penalty points incurred within 7 days of such a conviction being imposed.'
The driver apologised and said he did not realise he had to notify the district council about the penalty points.
The driver was also issued with a formal written warning as to his future conduct.
The decision can be appealed to the Magistrate's Court.
Any such appeal must be brought within 21 days from the date on which the notice of the decision is serve. The Licensing Panel Committee took place on Wednesday 6 September.
Source: https://www.stratford.gov.uk/news/press.cfm/current/1/item/138048
A private hire firm has blamed 'administrative shortcomings' at a council - after children were left without transport to get them to and from school.
Parents have contacted StokeonTrentLive to complain that their children have not been to school this term because Stoke-on-Trent City Council has not provided transport for them.
Some of them had been told that Normacot-based Autocab Private Hire Taxis would be providing the service. But Autocab says it has no records of some of those children.
One of the affected children - six-year-old Carter Birks - has missed the first eight days of school after not being able to get transport between his Longton home and Merryfields School, in Newcastle.
Now Autocab has linked the current crisis to the council slashing £570,000 from its school transport budget for the 2023/24 academic year.
Autocab boss Waqas Yaqub said: "We have been receiving a significant volume of inquiries from concerned parents who have recently received correspondence from Stoke-on-Trent City Council regarding Autocab's role in transporting their children for the latest academic term.
"Regrettably, in several instances, we did not have any correspondence from the council regarding these students, necessitating us to direct these parents back to the council for clarification.
"In my assessment, the challenges currently being confronted can be traced back to administrative shortcomings within Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
"Our organisation has proudly served as a provider for home-to-school transportation under the council's home-to-school framework since 2016, and I can attest that such disarray has not previously been observed.
"I would like to emphasise that this situation should not be attributed to the dedicated personnel responsible for managing transportation requests. They are operating under considerable constraints, grappling with an overwhelming volume of routes with a limited team of personnel, and it is my conviction that the root cause of these challenges lies solely with senior decision-makers at the city council.
"It is worth noting that this year has witnessed a comprehensive restructuring of the home-to-school transportation framework, a move that was necessitated by budgetary reductions amounting to £570,000, as announced in January 2023.
"The council is earnestly striving to make these budgetary cuts feasible, and unfortunately, it appears that the educational needs of children with special educational needs are being adversely impacted.
"During the summer break, we had staff prepared to attend safeguarding training in anticipation of the new term. However, these sessions were cancelled, necessitating rescheduling, which, in turn, was hampered by the substantial influx of new applications."
An 86-year-old taxi driver has been attacked and robbed in a car park near Perth city centre.
The Courier reports that the driver dropped off a customer in the parking area outside flats in Potterhill Gardens between 11.30am and noon on Sunday, September 10.
The male passenger assaulted the driver and demanded he hand over money.
Police Scotland is appealing for information following the assault and robbery.
Police Constable Hoskins said: “The taxi driver was left extremely shaken by this incident.
“Our enquiries are ongoing and we are keen to trace a member of the public who intervened in the incident."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 1747 of Sunday September 10.
Source: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/perth-kinross/4735759/taxi-driver-assaulted-perth/
A woman who was assaulted by a man posing as a taxi driver in Castleford has spoken of how the incident has impacted every aspect of her life after he was jailed for 11 years on 18 September.
According to the Wakefield Express, Raja Gulraiz, 48, from Sheffield, was found guilty following trial at Leeds Crown Court of attempt rape and sexual assault.
The offence took place in June 2021 when Gulraiz parked his Toyota Yaris close to a taxi rank and told the victim he was a taxi driver.
She got into his vehicle where he committed the sexual offences during the journey to her home.
Bad character evidence submitted to the trial detailed that Gulraiz had been linked to a similar offence in Castleford in 2018.
He was sentenced on Monday 18 September, to 11 years in jail.
A victim personal statement was provided to the court. Words from the victim included: “Prior to this I wouldn’t think twice about walking home alone at night, walking my dog or even getting into a taxi.
"It would never enter my head that people would be deceiving.
“I still have a lot of triggers. I no longer walk anywhere at night. I can’t go down a certain street and until recently I couldn’t even walk from my car to my front door without asking my mum or my partner to be waiting at door for me.
“This incident has impacted every aspect of my life and has changed me to someone whom I don’t want to be…I grieve that person I once was.”
Superintendent Phil Jackson said: “It cannot be underestimated how hard it will have been for her to stand up in front of her attacker in court and relive the ordeal that he subjected her to.
"She has done this in the hope that she can stop what happened to her from happening to someone else.
"I hope that this conviction also helps give other victims the confidence to come forward.
“Gulraiz has failed to accept responsibility for his actions.
“This conviction has ensured that a dangerous predator is now behind bars and will have conditions on him in the future to protect others from harm.”
A local councillor has sparked a debate on passenger safety after claiming that using locally licensed taxis is safer than hailing an Uber.
A taxi driver was attacked and subjected to racist abuse after two brothers refused to pay him up front.
Christopher Hilling, 64, admitted to engaging a child in sexual activity at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 8 August.
Abdigani Ebrahim, 38, of Grangetown, admitted charges of affray and criminal damage following the incident in Northcote Street, Roath, last July.
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