Jail term for taxi driver rapist Khalile Maqsood
A taxi driver who subjected a passenger to a horrifying abduction and rape has been jailed for eight and a half years.
Khalile Maqsood raped the 20-year-old at knifepoint after driving her to a deserted car park in Billingham last September.
He said the young woman, who refused his advances after he picked her up as she walked alone to a party, had led him on and had been "really up for it".
But a jury at Teesside Crown Court trial rejected his not guilty plea to rape.
Sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Rodney Jameson said he had considered imposing an indeterminate sentence for the public protection.
He said: "This young woman was obviously vulnerable and in drink.
"In her drunken and vulnerable state she obviously did not understand the danger she was placing herself in.
"She thought you were a kind and generous man and were offering her a lift out of kindness.
"You were not.
"She was an attractive young girl and you picked her up understanding she was in drink and unlikely to be in a position to resist what you were to do."
He said Maqsood, who denied rape, had shown little understanding of and no remorse for what he had done.
The judge said his "heart bled" for the family of the married father-of-four, 31.
Maqsood, of Brookfield Road, Stockton-on-Tees, spotted his victim in his taxi in Billingham in the early hours of September 10 last year.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially thought his white cab was a "lifesaver" as she walked to a party.
She said Maqsood, who was traced to Royal Cars in Stockton, pulled up and offered her a lift.
She got in but Maqsood took a series of wrong turns then stopped in a car park and turned off the engine.
She said he asked for a kiss and cuddle, which she refused, then he took her phone from her as it rang.
When she tried to take it back, he said, "If you don't do as I say, I'll stab you."
Maqsood initially denied having picked up the woman.
When confronted with DNA evidence he changed his story, admitting to having sex with the woman but claiming it was by consent.
He told detectives his victim initiated sex by stroking his leg and making suggestive comments.
He told jurors: "I'm only human at the end of the day. She'd come on to me. I made a mistake.
"I just gave in to temptation. She led me on. She consented to it. That's what she wanted."
Maqsood was also ordered to complete a sexual offenders' prevention order and sign on the sex offenders' register for life.
The cabbie, whose wife was pregnant with their fourth child when he committed the offence, was expressionless as he was led from the dock.
The court heard he had been threatened by fellow inmates while in custody and that his family had been the subject of threats and abuse.
PA
-
Stephen Hawking's wife on their marriage breakdown: 'The family were left behind'
-
Secret Nazi nuclear bunker discovered in Austria by filmmaker
-
Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501: Search pilot thought victims were alive and waving from the sea
-
AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash: debris does belong to missing plane, 40 bodies from missing plane found and 'emergency slide and plane door' spotted
-
Another AirAsia plane overshoots runway on landing in Philippines as concerned passengers say they are 'following the QZ8501 news'
-
Millions of Britons struggling to feed themselves and facing malnourishment
-
Ukip green policy: Climate change 'open to question' says energy spokesman Roger Helmer
-
British actor Idris Elba cannot star as James Bond because he is black, says shock jock Rush Limbaugh
-
Ukip member gets into Christmas spirit with Union Flag plea to Santa 'for our country back'
-
Nigel Farage: Ukip leader named 'Briton of the year' by The Times
-
Douglas Carswell tells Ukip to stop blaming foreigners as youth poll shows Nigel Farage is even less popular than Nick Clegg
- 1 Game of Thrones star Kit Harington regrets having to keep hair long for HBO show
- 2 Watch dramatic moment passengers on board faulty Virgin Atlantic flight VS43 were told of emergency landing by pilot
- 3 Deadly fake vodka made from anti-freeze found on sale across Britain ahead of new year
- 4 Secret Nazi nuclear bunker discovered in Austria by filmmaker
- 5 Fabricio Coloccini set for Newcastle United job
Caribbean luxury at its finest
Barbados offers a new slice of holiday heaven at Port Ferdnand and Saint Peter's Bay Luxury Resorts
Rainbow list 2014: The LBGT people who make a real difference
Introducing our annual celebration of the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender people who make a real difference
i100: Who makes your world a better place?
Tweet us the people who deserve some recognition to @thei100 with the hashtag #everydayhero and tell us why.
i100: How to take a wild career break and come back more employable
Fancy a wacky sabbatical?
Build yourself a brighter future
Chartered surveyors will be critical to shaping our new world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Congo's weapon of mass destruction














