Uber driver who sexually assaulted a female passenger is jailed
A private hire vehicle driver who sexually assaulted a female passenger when she was in an extremely vulnerable condition has been sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment after an investigation by the Met’s Taxi and Private Hire Policing Team. Temur Shah, 45, of Park Crescent, Harrow, was found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, 14 October after a one-week trial. He was sentenced on Tuesday, 12 November at the same court. He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and is indefinitely prohibited from applying to be a licensed Private Hire driver or Taxi driver with any authority within England and Wales and acting as a licensed Private Hire or Taxi driver within England and Wales. He has also been registered on the Sex Offenders register for 10 years. The conviction and sentencing follows a successful investigation by the Met’s Taxi and Private Hire Policing Team – part of the Roads and Transport Policing Command which is part-funded by Transport for London. Shah, who worked for Uber, committed his offence in the early hours of 15 January, 2018. He picked up a 27-year-old woman, who was feeling unwell, from an address in the West End. During the journey, Shah stopped the vehicle and insisted she sat in the front. After driving for a bit longer, the passenger said she was going to be sick. Shah stopped the cab and leaned over her to open the front passenger door. While doing this he sexually touched her. He continued to sexually assault her even as she leant out of the vehicle being sick. The passenger stayed in the mini-cab after the assault as she had no battery left on her phone and could not call for assistance; she also did not have any money. She also told Shah not to touch her again. Afterwards, Shah dropped the passenger off near her home in north London and the matter was reported to the police. The Taxi and Private Hire Policing Team carried out a thorough investigation, conducting enquiries with Uber and the person who booked the private hire vehicle on the victim’s behalf. They also collected an extensive amount of CCTV and viewed GPS data from Uber. Evidence pointed towards Shah as the driver – he was arrested for sexual assault on 2 February 2018 and was released under investigation. He was charged with sexual assault on Saturday, 19 January and convicted as above.
