An illegal taxi driver who groped a young woman in the back of his cab has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Soifur Ali, 49, picked up the tipsy 21 year-old after lying in wait near a line of mini-cabs outside a bar in Greenwich.

He then drove her to a secluded street before climbing into the back and groping her breasts while touching himself.

Ali, who claimed the victim consented, was convicted of sexual assault by an Old Bailey jury.

The court heard Ali, of Tennison Road, Stratford, is a married Muslim father-of-five who took to posing as a cabbie to earn more money on top of his job in an Indian restaurant. The woman had left friends to get a cab but realised she only had £5 so she headed towards was she thought was a mini-cab.

They drove off, but Ali stopped locked the doors and asked her to commit an indecent act. He then assaulted her.

As he got into the front she fled and called police. Ali was also banned from offering himself as a hire driver for five years under a Sex Prevention Order.
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