Uber driver who exposed himself to passenger and drove her around for two hours avoids jail

Nadeem Afzal was ‘extremely persistent in his sexual advances,’ police say

Chiara Giordano
Friday 03 January 2020 19:10 GMT
Uber driver Nadeem Afzal, 51, from Chigwell, has been handed a suspended prison sentence and put on the sexual offenders' register after exposing himself to a female passenger in October 2019.
Uber driver Nadeem Afzal, 51, from Chigwell, has been handed a suspended prison sentence and put on the sexual offenders' register after exposing himself to a female passenger in October 2019.

An Uber driver who exposed himself to a passenger before driving her around for almost two hours has avoided jail.

Nadeem Afzal, 51, picked up the woman after she booked a taxi following a night out in north London on Halloween.

But about 20 minutes into the journey, he exposed himself to the victim and asked her several times to touch him and perform a sex act.

The woman refused and made an audio recording of the conversation while continuing to reject his advances.

After almost two hours, the victim was dropped off at a fast-food restaurant near her home in south London. The journey should have taken just 40 minutes.

Once the victim was home, she called the police who began a manhunt for the driver.

Afzal, of Chigwell, Essex, was quickly identified and charged on 19 August with one count of exposure.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court a month later and in November pleaded guilty to the charge.

Afzal was sentenced to 12 months’ in prison, suspended for two years, at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday.

He also received a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Sergeant Jonny Harris, from the Metropolitan Police’s roads and transport command, said: “Afzal preyed on this female passenger in his minicab and was extremely persistent in his sexual advances and behaviour, leaving the passenger feeling scared and vulnerable.

“The victim showed courage coming forward to police and reporting Afzal, who is now a registered sex offender and can no longer work as a cab driver.”

Mandy McGregor, head of transport policing and community safety at Transport for London, added: “Nobody should ever be subjected to this kind of revolting and predatory behaviour and we are pleased to hear that Afzal has been brought to justice for his actions.

“We applaud the bravery of the victim for coming forward.

“We expect the highest standards from TfL-licensed taxi and private hire drivers, which is why Afzal is no longer a licensed driver. We take every report seriously so it can be investigated by the police.”

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