LEICESTER

A taxi driver has been jailed for four years for sex attacks on three lone women he picked up in his black cab.

One of the victims targeted by Leicester black cab driver Faruk Miah had learning difficulties, a court was told.

Prosecutor Victoria Rose told Leicester Crown Court how 57-year-old Miah sexually assaulted the passengers, all of whom were in their early 20's and had been drinking, in Leicester between 2010 and 2014.

Judge Simon Hammond told Miah he was a devious sexual predator who should never be a taxi driver again.

He said Miah attacked his first victim on July 29, 2010 after he told her to sit in the front seat of his taxi.

He said: "She had learning difficulties which were in clear evidence."

The judge said Miah touched her indecently and tried to kiss her.

Miah attacked his second victim after picking her up at 2.30am on March 28, 2011.

He grabbed her indecently and tried to kiss her.

Miah groped his third victim after picking her up at 3am on July 12, 2014.

The judge said Miah had singled her out even though she was not at the front of the taxi queue.

Miah pushed his body up against his victim and tried to kiss her.

Miah, of Hamilton Street, Highfields, Leicester, had been convicted in his absence, at an earlier hearing, of three charges of sexual assault.

The judge told how Miah had appeared at a previous court hearing and was rushed to hospital after faking a heart attack.

He said: "There was nothing wrong with you. Your actions in court were a sham."

Paul Prior, defending, said his client was a man of previous good character and the main breadwinner for his family.

He said Miah had come over to the UK in the late 1980s and always worked hard to provide for his family.

He said: "His wife and his children will serve a sentence along with him."

Miah will be on the sex offenders register for life.


Lawrence English, head of the CPS East Midlands rape and serious sexual offences team said: "His behaviour represented a concerning repetition of offences, which had the potential to escalate into something much more serious.

"Miah's actions are a betrayal of the trust placed in his profession.

"Women need to rely on taxis to enjoy a night out and be sure they get home safely.

"Miah abused the trust these women placed in him. Each of the victims has provided strong evidence that has seen Miah face the consequences of his actions.

"I would like to thank them for coming forward and giving this evidence now."