December 2012

Middlesbrough taxi driver jailed for sex attack on teenager

Married dad Liaqat Ali preyed on a vulnerable 16-year-old after picking her up in his hackney carriage in central Middlesbrough.

He drove his young passenger, who had been drinking and was dozing off, to a secluded spot where he forced her to perform a sex act on him.

Ali, 42, of Abingdon Road, Middlesbrough, has now been jailed for seven years and banned from driving taxis for life under a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Today the mother of his young victim told the Gazette she was “quite happy” with the sentence.

But she added: “It is not going to change anything.

“It is always going to be there. It is always going to be part of our lives what has happened to her.”

It is every parent’s worst nightmare, the fear of their child being targeted by a sex attacker.

And the Middlesbrough mum admitted: “I never, ever thought I would be in this situation.”

She said she had allowed her teenage daughter to go out with friends in Middlesbrough to celebrate a birthday.

She said: “She had been to a birthday party.

“It was one exception where I knew it was in a pub.

“We are not big drinkers. Drinking is a bit of a taboo subject in our family.

“It was just one occasion where I had made the decision and said ‘Go out, enjoy yourself’.

“This is the result. It has wrecked our lives.”

She said her daughter, who was 16 at the time but is now 17, had been a “vibrant, happy-go-lucky” girl before.

Now, following her horrendous ordeal, she found it hard to trust people.

Her mum said: “When she walks out of our front door I am constantly ringing her.

“She is very wary about walking on her own.

“It has knocked her confidence for six.”

During his trial at Teesside Crown Court last month, Ali claimed the girl had initiated the sexual contact. He claimed she had started touching him and what happened was consensual.

The prosecution said Ali picked her up when she was obviously affected by drink and took advantage of her during what she thought was a journey home.

The girl’s mum believes her daughter was “picked out” by Ali as she walked alone up Linthorpe Road on March 2 this year.

She said it was Ali who pulled over and asked her if she wanted a taxi, rather than her flagging him down.

She said: “In my eyes he spotted her drunk and picked her out.

“She didn’t want that taxi. She was more than willing to walk home.”

Police have welcomed the sentence handed to Ali.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Tom Sewell said: “He took advantage of a young girl who just wanted to get home after a night out and his time in custody will prevent him from being a danger to other vulnerable women.

“The victim in this case has shown great courage throughout the trial and I hope that this sentence will help her and her family to move on with their lives.”