Taxi Driver Online

Rotherham taxi driver 'groomed and raped girl'

A taxi driver accused of raping a teenage schoolgirl has told a jury he had never met the alleged victim.

Ashgar Bostan, 47, is accused of attacking the complainant, now in her late 20s, twice at a flat in Wagon Road, Rotherham, between 2002 and 2004.

Prosecutors say she was raped by Bostan, who went by the name "Don", after she was "groomed and manipulated" by a woman living at the flat.

Mr Bostan, of East Bawtry Road, Rotherham, denies two counts of rape.

Giving evidence at Sheffield Crown Court, Mr Bostan said he had not heard of the alleged victim or a woman called Shafina Ali who lived at the Wagon Road flat, and that he had never visited it.

The court heard that in a police interview following his arrest in 2016 he said: "I've never raped anybody in my life. I'm a straightforward man. I've got five kids and I'm a grandfather.

"I've been brought up the right way and I know what's right and wrong and I've never done what this lady is saying."

He also said he had never been called Don.

Asked in court about a drawing of a flower with the names Gemma and Don written on it that was found in a notebook in his garage, he said he had "no idea" who was responsible for the image.

In cross-examination, the alleged victim claimed she was "100%" certain she had correctly identified Mr Bostan as Don, the man who attacked her.

She told the court: "I know who he is and I know what he did to me. I would not put myself through this if I was lying."

Asked about her decision to spend time at the flat, she said: "I was befriended by these people who groomed me in to staying at the property.

"I was a child and they were fully grown adults."

The court heard Shafina Ali died in 2009.

The trial continues.

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IDFIMH

I would say on the balance of probability he will be found guilty and hopefully rot in jail thereafter

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

If his guilt is on the balance of probability then he walks free.

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IDFIMH

But as his guilt was beyond reasonable doubt, he will not walk free.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-so ... e-43007655

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IDFIMH

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Taxi driver rapist, 52, convicted in Rotherham grooming scandal is ordered to pay victim more than £425,000 in damages after sexually abusing her when she was 14

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... mages.html



A rapist convicted in the Rotherham grooming scandal has been ordered by the High Court to pay his victim more than £425,000 in damages.

Taxi driver Asghar Bostan, 52, was jailed for nine years in 2018 after being convicted of two offences against a girl under 16 in Rotherham between 2000 and 2002.

Now the victim - known as 'Liz' - has brought what is said to be the first successful civil action of its kind against Bostan, who was released from prison last year.

She started civil proceedings against Bostan three years ago 'to at last get real justice' and has now received damages of £425,934.09 in a judgment last week.

Liz told BBC News: 'I wanted to give something back not only to myself, but to other survivors and do something not only for Rotherham but for all the UK.

'I am really, really pleased for the outcome and really, really pleased this might open the floodgates for other survivors. It will never heal the past, we will always walk in these shoes, but it is about closing a chapter.'

She added that she was 'proud' to have brought the case against Bostan - who was in jail at HMP Leicester - but the scale of the damages had not 'sunk in' yet.

Bostan failed to engage with the civil court proceedings while still in jail, and the order is likely to bankrupt him, reported The Times. It has been claimed she is likely to receive around £100,000.

The victim previously told the National Crime Agency that she was given drugs and alcohol, coerced to a flat and raped on two occasions when she was 14 or 15.

Baroness Cox, Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Honour Based Abuse, said: 'I have met with many grooming gang survivors over the years and I am delighted that Liz has been awarded this financial justice. Her great legal victory should bring hope to many other survivors.'

Bostan was charged in May 2017 as part of Operation Stovewood - the National Crime Agency's investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse between 1997 and 2013.

The victim came forward to South Yorkshire Police in 2014 to report the abuse and the case was referred to the NCA's team.

Bostan was then jailed at Sheffield Crown Court in February 2018.

Liz was supported in her legal case by former Ukip leader Lord Rannoch and former Conservative peer Lord Vinson who both raised money to help her.

She was also backed by Hearts of Oak, a 'free speech campaign group' launched in 2020 by a team including English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson.

Peter Mcilvenna, director of Hearts Of Oak, said: 'Liz has been admirably courageous to see the legal process through to this victory.

'We would like her ground-breaking civil action to be just the start of a wider campaign to get compensation for more victims and to punish more grooming gang rapists where it hurts.'

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IDFIMH

It will be interesting to see if they manage to extract that much money from him and even more interesting to see if further awards made against other members. I think that the financial implications would be a far greater disincentive than jail.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

I would imagine it's equity in a property.

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IDFIMH