in his cab has been given a suspended sentence and will do no time in jail.
Masoud Rahimi, 37, went after a 20-year-old. He was caught in the act by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in Hull, a city in northern England.
He made inappropriate remarks and stroked her leg after she got into the front passenger seat. A jury at Hull Crown Court took five hours to unanimously convict him of sexual assault.
Judge James Sampson sentenced Rahimi to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was given a three-month curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and was ordered listed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.
Rahimi was caught after CCTV footage showed him pulling up in front of the woman May 6 and offering his taxi service. But Rahimi has the type of taxi license that forbids him to pick up passengers off the streets,
The court heard Rahimi told the woman she was “beautiful” before putting his hand on her.
The victim had told the court: “I saw what I thought was a taxi pull up and I went over to it and asked to be taken home. I gave my address to the driver, my feet were hurting and it was the easy option. He placed his left hand on my leg and asked if I was cold. He kept his hand there and rubbed my leg from the ankle to the thigh. He asked if I shaved and said he could tell I did. I was shocked but kept quiet.”
Despite her request to be taken to east Hull, Rahimi took her to west Hull and pulled into a service station. Once there, the girl escaped from his cab and ran for help. “Once he stopped at the petrol station, I took my seatbelt off and ran as fast as I could,” she told the court.
She called a friend for help and reported the incident to the police the next morning.
Rahimi, who has lived in Hull for eight years, denied it was he until the CCTV footage was shown to him, showing the girl fleeing from his car as he pumped gasoline.