AN ILLEGAL taxi driver who groped a woman in the back of his car has been caged for twoand-a-half years.

Soifur Ali, 49, picked up the 21-year-old at a line of minicabs out-side a bar in Greenwich.

He took her to a secluded street before climbing into the back and molesting her while touching himself.

Ali, who claimed the victim consented, was convicted of sexual assault at the Old Bailey on Friday.

The court heard Ali was a married father-of-five who worked as a black market taxi driver to earn extra money on top of his job at an Indian restaurant. Prosecutor Christopher Stimpson said the victim left her friends to get a cab home from Inc Bar in College Approach around mid night on March 31.

Mr Stimpson said: "She only had about £5 on her at that stage and she knew that wasn't enough to get a black cab so she headed towards what she thought was a minicab. "He stopped the car near Old Dover Road and she started to get some money but she heard the car doors lock."

Ali climbed into the back seat, made lewd remarks to the victim and touched her.

Afterwards she called police and was able to give officers part of Ali's registration number.

He was arrested in May.

Ali, of Tennyson Road, Stratford, east London, was banned from driving a taxi for five years under a sex prevention order.

He will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

 http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/bexley/tm_headline=illegal-taxi-driver-is-sex-beast%26method=full%26objectid=18179298%26siteid=50100-name_page.html