PREDATORY MANCHESTER PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER JAILED FOR HORRENDOUS ABDUCTION AND RAPE OF STUDENT

A Manchester private hire driver has been handed a 16-year extended sentence after picking up a vulnerable university student and raping her in what a judge described as an "horrendous incident."

Muhammad Nasir, 40, had logged off his booking system - meaning he was not legally allowed to take passengers - when he targeted the 20-year-old victim outside a city centre nightclub.

Instead of taking her home, Nasir drove the victim in the opposite direction to Chorlton, where the assault took place over several hours.

At Manchester Crown Court, Judge Suzanne Goddard KC branded Nasir a "dangerous and predatory sex offender," stating: “I am satisfied... that you deliberately picked up a clearly drunken lone female with the intention of taking sexual advantage of her.”

The judge added that the case serves as a warning about the dangers of using vehicles “which have not been officially booked through the proper channels.”

The victim, who waited nearly five years for justice, told the court that Nasir’s betrayal of trust had a profound impact on her life. She stated: “The offender was a taxi driver, someone whose job is to keep passengers safe. Instead, he took advantage of my vulnerability and the trust I placed in him and essentially, he abducted me.”

Despite the trauma, she expressed her resilience, saying: “This once defined me, but today it does not. I am able to do this because I was believed.”

Nasir, a father-of-three, denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and an extra four years on licence on 5 May.

Detective Constable James Adams praised the survivor’s “extraordinary strength and bravery,” noting that her determination to ensure the attack does not define her is “remarkable.”

Police urged anyone who has experienced similar crimes to come forward, promising they will be “listened to, believed and supported.”

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