Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver cleared of rapes picked up women passengers with his trousers down

A PERVERT taxi driver has been cleared of raping two women. Henry Summerfield, 52 walked free over the sex attacks but pleaded guilty to driving his cab while naked below the waist. He also admitted flashing at a 19-year-old girl.

A judge ruled one of the alleged rapes could not be proved due to a lack of evidence, while a jury found him not guilty of the second.

They did not know Summerfield had previous indecent exposure convictions or that he had admitted the two new indecency charges. The day after he was cleared it was revealed that Scotland's rape conviction rate has fallen to 2.9 per cent.

Summerfield's first alleged victim claimed he beat her up and raped her in her home in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, in February 2002. But at the High Court in Kilmarnock last week, judge Lord Emslie granted a defence motion there was insufficient evidence.

His second accuser - an on-off girlfriend - claimed he raped her in her home in Prestwick, Ayrshire, last August. A neighbour said he saw her kiss Summerfield as he left the next day.

At the end of the hearing, Summerfield, originally of Saltcoats but now living in Essex, admitted indecent exposure in Largs, Ayrshire. He picked up three girls in his cab while naked from the waist down and flashed at the 19-year-old. Sentence was deferred until next month.

In 2006-07, 27 of the 922 rapes reported resulted in conviction - 2.9 per cent. Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini said: "The conviction rate for rape is clearly too low."

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IDFIMH

With a conviction rate as low as that is it any wonder that women sometimes don't even bother to report rapes.

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Grandad,

Well that's okay then he'll be right at home

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, "Animal Farm"