SHAME SHAME


JAILED GLASGOW UBER DRIVER BRANDED A ‘GROSS BREACH OF TRUST’ AFTER TEEN ASSAULT


A Glasgow Uber driver has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a vulnerable teenage passenger. Dawitt Tessema, 46, targeted the 19-year-old victim in the city’s Woodlands area


in


September 2023 after picking her up from a city centre nightclub in the early hours of the morning. The court heard that the victim was “very drunk” when she entered Tessema’s vehicle. During the trial, prosecutor Lauren Sangray detailed how Tessema first attempted to touch the girl from the driver’s


seat before


moving into the rear of the vehicle to con- tinue the assault. “Tessema parked up and put his hand through the centre con- sole and tried to touch her on the body and leg but could not reach,” Sangray told jurors. “He then went in the back of the car and touched her under her pants that were still on.” Following the incident, Tessema attempted to contact the victim, texting her: “I’m really sorry, please


forgive me, please, please.” Upon his arrest, the first-time offender admitted to police officers, “I have to stop, I made a big mistake.” In sentencing Tessema on 23 January, Sheriff John McCormick condemned the driver’s actions as a predatory exploitation of his position. “You accepted the trust of a passenger in your vehicle,” the Sheriff stated. “There, you had a 19- year-old female who had drunk alcohol to


excess. You took


advantage of her in your taxi which was a gross breach of trust.” Tessema was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.


DEVON CABBIE JAILED FOR FOUR YEARS AFTER SEXUALLY ABUSING CHILD IN EXCHANGE FOR FARE


A 79-year-old taxi driver who sexually abused a teenage girl in his car after she was unable to pay for a lift has been sentenced to four years in prison. Terence Round, of St Giles on the Heath, appeared at Truro Crown Court on Monday 19 January, following guilty pleas to engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl who was aged under 16 and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The court heard that the victim had been unable to pay a £30 fare and had offered Round “anything he wanted” in exchange for the journey. After a series of text messages, Round drove the girl to a secluded location in Cornwall where he locked the vehicle doors. Prosecutor Heather Hope told the


56


court that Round was aware of the victim’s age, hav- ing previously texted her that it was a “shame she was not 16.” During the ordeal, the victim was “terrified” and “froze,” the court heard. Following the abuse, Round told the girl to get dressed and “act like nothing happened,” remind- ing her not to tell anyone before completing the journey. Defending Round, Emily Cook acknowledged the “clearly very serious offending” but argued that the 79-year-old was not a future risk. She suggested that Round initially interpreted the offer of “anything he wants” to mean “cleaning his car.”


Ms. Cook also highlighted the impact a prison sentence would have on Round’s dependent wife, noting that his “career has ended” and he no longer works as a driver. In his sentencing remarks, His Honour Judge James Adkin noted the breach of trust inherent in the defendant's profession.“You were a taxi driver, you gave her a lift and took her to an isolated spot,” the judge said. Acknowledging the victim’s trauma, he added: “she said she was terrified.” While Judge Adkin took Round’s lack of previous convictions and home circumstances into account, he determined that a custodial sentence was necessary. In addition to his four-year jail term, Round will remain on the sex offender register for life.


FEBRUARY 2026 PHTM


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