SHAME SHAME...


A DECADE LATER LUTON DRIVER JAILED FOR TWO RAPES THANKS TO DNA EVIDENCE


Two women, who were raped by a Luton taxi driver over a decade ago, have finally been able to get justice for their ordeal, after their attacker was jailed for 22 years. Bedfordshire Police report that Shipu Ahmed, 35, was sen- tenced at Luton Crown Court in June for two counts of rape committed within the space of


two weeks in late 2007. He was con- victed on 4 May, following a two- week trial, after DNA evidence link- ed him to both the unsolved cases. His DNA profile was traced as part of work carried out under Operation Painter. The opera- tion began in 2016 by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major


Crime Unit to review undetected rapes and sexual offences which occurred in between 1974 and 1999.


Ahmed’s first victim was only 15 years old when she was walking along a street on 30 Novem- ber 2007, around 11pm. Ahmed offer- ed her a lift and took her to a secluded picnic area where he raped her before


LANARKSHIRE DRIVER USED CAMERA IN CAB TO UPSKIRT PASSENGERS


A taxi driver who installed a hidden camera to film under the clothing of unsuspecting pas- sengers is facing jail. David Whitehead, 53, set up the covert device in a twisted bid to record mem- bers of the public as they travelled in his vehicle. His seedy spying operation saw him capture footage of a passen- ger but it only came to light when police raided his home in connection with sick images of children. According to the Scottish Sun, offi- cers launched a dawn raid at the property in Cumber- nauld, after a tip-off and discovered extreme clips and pictures. The disturb- ing haul of 2,503 photos and 1,529 videos included hor- rific footage of abuse. Whitehead appear- ed at Airdrie Sheriff Court and admitted


44


taking or permitting indecent images of children between August 2005 and August 2017. He also admitted having the hidden camera in his car between August and September 2013. Depute fiscal Agnes Meek said: “Informa- tion was received by the National Child Abuse Prevention that a device associ- ated with the locus was connected to the internet and had indecent images of children available for sharing. “Officers sought and were granted a war- rant and police attended to execute the warrant. A sys- tematic search was carried out and a number of devices were seized. “The accused while standing in his kitchen in front of officers, stated ‘it is all me, nothing to do with my boy’. He was detained and


after provided a no- comment interview.” Miss Meek added: “One moving image is 29 minutes long and features several clips of child sexual exploitation.” Sheriff Derek O’Car- roll deferred sen- tence and continued Whitehead’s bail for reports but warned him to expect to be sent to prison. He added: “Given the nature of the offences you should understand that a custodial sentence is very much at the forefront of this court’s mind. “I will continue your bail but you should not draw any con- clusions from that regarding the ulti- mate final disposal of this case.” Whitehead was placed on the sex offenders register. North Lanarkshire Council confirmed they revoked his taxi licence last year.


gation. It proved a match on the DNA database from evi- dence collected during both rape investigations, link- ing him to


the Shipu Ahmed


dropping her back to where


he’d


picked her up. The incident was reported to police and the following day a forensic exam- ination of the scene was carried out, resulting in the recovery of a con- dom which con- tained some DNA. Two weeks later, Ahmed went on to attack a 22-year-old woman after she and an acquain- tance got into his car at a taxi rank after a night out in Dunstable in Dec- ember 2007. After dropping her friend off, Ahmed sped away with the victim and drove her to an area of Luton, where he raped her in the back of the car. She reported it to the police the same morning and had a medical examina- tion, where samples of DNA were taken. At the time of the attacks, several lines of enquiry were car- ried out to trace the offender, but offi- cers were unable to identify him. Then, in September 2017, Ahmed was arrested for an assault and his DNA was collected as part of the investi-


offences. Officers carried out further lines of enquiry following this discovery and in October 2017, Ah- med was arrested and charged with two counts of rape, resulting in the sub- stantial 22-year sentence.


One of the victims, in her statement, described how this has had huge effect on her life.


She said: “I cannot put fully into words what this has done to me. There have been parts of my life, especially since the police told me that they had found him, that have been filled with nothing but anger, suffering, bitterness and stress and just sheer men- tal and physical pain – all caused by the actions of one man, one night, raping me. “The effects of what he did that night have been so far reaching, silently tor- turing my mind over the last ten years; no matter how hard I tried to forget, it was always there. I am so relieved that it is over.” The other victim stated that she was shocked to


have


received a call from the police ten years later.


She said: “When I found out that an


arrest had been made, I was happy that the police had found him. It made me feel like the police had believed me and that was important to me.” DI Pushpa Guild from the Bedford- shire, Cambridge- shire and Hertford- shire Major Crime Unit, said: “We are satisfied that Shipu Ahmed has received such a substantial sentence as these attacks have had a huge impact on both the victims and their families since 2007 and it’s remarkable they finally have jus- tice.


“Both women were incredibly brave in coming forward to report the attacks and we would like to commend their courage as they had to endure the ordeal of giving evidence and reliving it all again so many years later.”


DCS Mark Lay of Bedfordshire Police, the officer in charge of Operation Painter, said: “This is the sec- ond successful con- viction and substan- tial sentence under Operation Painter thanks to advance- ments in DNA and forensic science allowing us to review cases dating back decades. “This further proves the importance of this work in revisit- ing past cases in order to bring evil predators to justice and deliver a form of closure for their vic- tims.”


AUGUST 2018


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88