Private Hire Driver found guilty of sexually assaulting female passenger who got in the front to cha
A private hire driver has been found guilty of sexual assault of a female passenger following a trial at Kirklees Magistrates Court. 32-year-old driver, Ali Asim, who worked for Wakefield Cars, denied sexually assaulting his victim, but footage recorded from the woman’s mobile phone helped convince a jury convict him of the attack which took place when the woman ordered a minicab home after a night out with friends on February 5. Prosecutor Jill Seddon said: “The defendant was called to collect the two ladies from the pub and her friend was dropped off first. “At some point she(the victim) got into the front of the taxi (minicab), the reason being the driver offered her the opportunity to charge her mobile phone. “She says when she did that he reached across the seat and touched her between her legs and on her breasts. “She’s dropped off at home and tells her husband what’s happened. A short time later police are involved and the driver was traced through his taxi (private hire) information.” Footage from the victims mobile phone proved that she was highly distressed when she was dropped off at her home. During the footage the victim could clearly be heard crying as she arrived home and calling her attacker a ‘dirty b*****d’. The victim told the court: “he said: I’ve got a charger. Why don’t you jump in the front and you can plug your phone into my charger? “At Barnsley Road (Flockton) he stopped, pulled over and I went to the front and plugged my phone. “Nothing happened and I said: ‘I can’t believe it’s not working’. “We set off driving and a little bit further down the road his left hand came over and touched me and I said: ‘what do you think you are doing?’ “First he touched my breasts, he grabbed them both, and went down to my private parts. “He didn’t say a word. He just put his hands back on the steering wheel and carried on driving.” She then told the court that he groped her again a little further down the road. Asim denied the claims but was found guilty following a three hour trial. The Examiner Live confirmed that he will be sentenced on January 2.