SHAME SHAME


LONDON PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER JAILED FOR 19 YEARS FOR RAPING TWO WOMEN


A sexual predator who raped a sleeping woman while posing as her Uber driver and carried out a violent park attack on a second victim has been jailed for 19 years. Michael Mehari, who police have confirmed was a registered private hire driver from London, appeared at court on Thursday 23 February, where he was sentenced for three counts of rape. Mehari, 34, stalked the streets of Kennington in search of vulnerable female victims, targeting the first woman as she walked home from a night out with friends. On December 29, 2019 the woman in her 20s was followed by Mehari, dragged onto a secluded pathway in Kennington Gardens, and struck over the head to keep her quiet during the attack. The second attack took place in the early hours of March 20, 2022, when a woman, also in her 20s, had booked an Uber to Kings Cross station and believed he was her driver.


consent, but was found guilty by a jury of three counts of rape. At the Old Bailey he was sentenced by


Judge Rosina


Instead, Mehari took the woman – who had fallen asleep on the backseat – to a quiet side street in Kennington where he twice raped her.


She confronted him, left the vehicle and reported the incident to transport staff at a nearby Tube station, who called police. An investigation was launched and support was provided to


the


victim. Enquiries led to the arrest of Mehari.


A DNA sample, taken in custody, linked him to both the 2019 and 2022 offences. Mehari, a father, denied both attacks at trial while claiming


SUNDERLAND CABBIE IN COURT AFTER WOMAN ALLEGEDLY RAPED


A Sunderland taxi driver charged after a woman was allegedly raped in the city has appeared in court. Ian Phillips, 46, is alleged to have attacked a woman he picked up in his cab in the city centre at around 5.30am on Sunday, February 12. Prosecutors claim the father-of- three, from Easington Colliery, struck after driving her to the Hendon Beach area Sunderland’s coastline.


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He did not enter a plea to a charge of rape when he appeared in the dock at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on February 14. Prosecutor Lesley Burgess said the offence was one which can only be heard at crown court. District Judge Kathryn Meek remanded Phillips into custody and he will appear for a first hearing at Newcastle Crown Court on 14 March.


Cottage KC to 19 years in prison with an extra four years on licence after his release. “Both of the victims were particularly vulnerable, each was very drunk and the CCTV images show them weaving about,” she said. “Neither were in a position to notice the danger they were in from you.”


She said the second attack involved a “significant degree of planning”, as Mehari loitered in his car waiting for a possible victim. “You used the apparent safety of your car to make her think you were driving her to Kings Cross, rather than Kennington where you left her, alone, fearful, and without her telephone,” said the judge. “Your attitude to the offending remains denial of any responsibility, which means you pose a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm.” The judge said Mehari, who lived in the Kennington area, must serve at least two thirds of his prison sentence before being considered for release.


He will also be subject to sex offender notifications for life. Detective Constable Tristan Jones, of the Met’s Central South Command, said: “Mehari is a dangerous opportunist who actively sought lone women. “Identifying and apprehending those who commit violence against women and girls is a priority to which we are absolutely committed.”


MARCH 2023 PHTM


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