SHAME SHAME
ST LEONARDS DRIVER JAILED FOR TWO YEARS AFTER SEX ATTACKS
A taxi driver was jailed for two years last month after carrying out sex attacks on pas- sengers.
Mohsen Nilchian, from St Leonards, was sent to prison after a court heard he prowled on women he picked up in the early hours of the morning. The 50-year-old was found guilty of sexual- ly assaulting two women while working in Hastings between 2007 and 2009.
Lewes Crown Court
heard Nilchian’s first victim was a 25-year- old he picked up from outside a town centre pub at 3.30am in June 2007. He assaulted her in his cab.
And the second, a 17- year-old girl, was attacked in May 2009 after getting into his car at 3.30am - again in Hastings town centre. Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Jay Mendis- Gunasekera of Hast- ings Police told the Hastings and St
Leonards Observer: “I am pleased Nilchian has been put away for these crimes. He abused the trust of two women who had got into his cab in order to get home safely. “I want to thank his two victims who brave- ly came forward to give evidence.”
Nilchian was stripped of his cabbie’s licence and a spokesman for Hastings Borough Council urged people not to be put off using taxis in the future.
CHELMSFORD DRIVER ABUSED CHILDREN FOR YEARS
A taxi driver who worked for social serv- ices driving special needs children to school has been con- victed of a string of sexual offences against youngsters. Graham White, 53, from Chelmsford, pleaded guilty at Basil- don Crown Court to 20 counts of sexual abuse of children over a 29-year period and has been warned to expect a lengthy prison sentence. White, who carried out the attacks between 1971 and 1999, worked for Allied Radio Cars, based in Drood Close, Chelmsford, who were contracted by Essex County Council social services to take chil-
dren with special needs to school. It is not known whether any of the vic- tims were children he met while on that job, as White’s guilty plea spared the victims the strain of retelling their stories in court. However, during that time the private hire firm received several complaints about White’s inappropriate behaviour towards children, which includ- ed taking them out for unscheduled meals and treats.
The company also received anonymous phone calls accusing it of employing a pae- dophile – although no action was taken as the claims could not
be substantiated. The attacks only came to light after one of the victims, who was abused when aged just eight, contacted his sister through internet site Friends Reunited, in an attempt to find the man who had ruined his life – and kill him. Following the trial vic- tims said that they had reported White to the police on several occasions – one 11 years ago and another 20 years ago – raising questions about why he was still allowed to work with vulnerable children.
His sister is convinced more victims will come forward when they hear about her broth- er’s convictions.
LONDON ILLEGAL CABBIE RAPED STUDENT
An illegal minicab driv- er who raped a woman in his car has been found guilty seven years after the attack. According to the Enfield Independent, Astor Newton Murray picked up a 22-year-old woman in Shoreditch, in November 2003, after pestering her to accept his offer of a lift. The 49-year-old from Edmonton, drove her to a deserted industrial estate and began tak- ing off his trousers and
unbuttoning his shirt. When the woman, who had been out with friends that night, tried to get out of the car, she found the doors were locked and she could not escape. Murray then raped and indecently assaulted the woman on the back seat of his unli- censed cab. He then tried to drive her home but she fled the car when it pulled up at a set of traffic lights. Police took forensic
evidence but Murray was not on the DNA database and could not be traced in con- nection with the rape. However, he was arrested last year for touting unlicensed minicab services and for assault, and his DNA was linked to the 2003 attack.
Murray denied rape and indecent assault but was convicted at the Old Bailey and was sentenced on Septem- ber 24 to eight years.
BRADFORD CABBIE GETS TEN YEARS FOR RAPE OF YOUNG MUM
A predatory private hire driver who repeat- edly raped a young mother on an isolated farm track at dead of night was jailed for ten years last month. Mohammed Ahmed targeted the vulnera- ble 19-year-old after the taxi she had ordered did not arrive. Ahmed, 42, was caught on CCTV picking up his victim outside Bradford University last October. He was licensed only to take pre-booked fares but pulled up when he saw her alone in the street.
Ahmed, from Brad- ford, was convicted by a jury in July of twice raping the teenager after her first night out in the city centre since suffering from post-
natal depression. The woman told the jury that Ahmed had said: “I’ll show you a good time,” before raping her in the Aller- ton area.
A tape of her sobbing on her phone after dialling 999 at 2am was played in court. Judge John Potter told Ahmed, who had been driving cabs for five years, that it was clear he had targeted the teenager to satisfy his “dreadful and abusive need for sexual gratifi- cation”. “You subjected her to a sickening, pro- longed, and terrible ordeal,” he said. Ahmed forced his vic- tim and her mother to give evidence in court, compounding their
distress and the harm caused. “You lied and lied to the jury, as you did to the police, to try to cover up this disgrace- ful and disgusting behaviour,” the judge said.
He branded Ahmed a “predatory sexual offender” who deliber- ately targeted a lone woman after she had been drinking. His warped sense of the truth revealed his complete disdain for his victim.
The judge made a Sexual Offences Pre- vention Order without limit of time barring Ahmed from ever working again as a cab driver. He must sign on the sex offenders’ reg- ister indefinitely.
PAGE 46
PHTM OCTOBER 2010
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