Posted on the 14th November 2025 in PHTM News

UBER DRIVER JAILED FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING TWO WOMEN AFTER DRIVING ONE HOME FROM CARDIFF NIGHT OUT

An Uber driver who targeted vulnerable young women in Cardiff, sexually assaulting two passengers has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison.

Amanuale Mebrahtu, 28, was convicted of assault by penetration and sexual assault following incidents involving two separate victims who he came into contact with while working as a driver.

In the first incident, a student ordered an Uber home after a night out. During the journey, Mebrahtu’s questions became sexual, and he asked her if she wanted to “sleep around with other men.”

When they arrived at her address, Mebrahtu asked the woman for a hug. Believing this was the quickest way to end the encounter, she agreed. However, the driver groped her bottom.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Matthew Porter-Bryant noted Mebrahtu then asked the victim if he could go inside her house or if she would get back into his car.

The victim reported the incident to police and Uber, but Mebrahtu later sent her a friend request on Snapchat, causing further anxiety.

In her victim personal statement, the woman detailed the long-lasting impact, stating: “I am disgusted by what he did to me, he targeted me because I was on my own and vulnerable…” She added: “The incident will remain with me for the rest of my life.”

Mebrahtu later sexually assaulted a second woman who appeared intoxicated after he followed her and her friends in his car.

He approached her, offering a piggy back down some stairs. Once at the bottom, he asked her to get into his taxi, then placed his hands under her dress and sexually assaulted her with his fingers before running off.

The second victim’s statement described the emotional damage: “My life has been impacted in a number of ways and I am undergoing therapy counselling sessions…. I am both physically and mentally exhausted.”

The court heard Mebrahtu was of previous good character. However, Judge Porter-Bryant condemned his abuse of trust, saying: “You were meant to represent a means of returning home safely. You were meant to be a protective factor, not a person young females needed to be protected from.”

Mebrahtu was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on November 4 to seven years and three months' imprisonment, plus an extended licence period of three years.

He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely.


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