Taxi Driver Online

Not sure if the newspaper's headline overeggs things a bit - says the complainant admitted 'lying to cops', whereas report says she claimed the inconsistencies in her statements were an 'honest mistake'.

So will be interesting to see how other outlets report the case, assuming others do.

Anyway, the driver has been cleared by the criminal court, but whether he get his badge back is another matter - see next post.

Taxi driver who lost his job and licence after being accused of sex attack on passenger in Paisley CLEARED after she admits lying to cops

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3 ... r-paisley/

Nerbert Tumwesigye was said to have sexually assaulted the woman in a car park after dropping her off following a festive night out with her family

A TAXI driver who lost his licence and his job after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a car park has been cleared of all wrongdoing after she admitted lying about it.

Nerbert Tumwesigye was said to have abused the woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, after dropping her off following a festive night out with her family.

The woman, 27, claimed he had sexually assaulted her by putting his hands on her face, kissing her on the mouth and putting his tongue in her mouth without consent.

She told police probing the incident that it took place in a car park in Thornly Park Gardens, Paisley, on January 2 this year.

Tumwesigye, 37, denied breaking Section 3 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 by sexually assaulting her against her will and went on trial over the claims at Paisley Sheriff Court.

She told the court she “began to feel slightly uncomfortable” the minute she got in to the taxi, because it she was herself and it was night time and dark.

But in her police statement, which was read to the court, she said she chatted with him when she got in to his cab.

She also said in evidence that she only had one glass of wine on the night in question, however, she told officers she’d had at least four glasses of wine – and had given the driver her full name.

She admitted giving different versions of events but said it was “an honest mistake”.

Her mother, 58, also gave evidence, telling the court she received a phone call from her where she was “crying down the phone.”

She added: “She was pretty distraught. She was definitely very, very upset. She said she’d been assaulted. She did mention she’d been kissed by the taxi driver.

“She phoned in terrible distress, I had to get to her – I had no option.”

The mother said she rushed to her daughter’s home – where she was “crying and blaming herself” – and that she “comforted her.”

Tumwesigye, who moved to Scotland in 2010, gave evidence in his own defence, saying he had helped his accuser both in and out of the taxi after noticing her struggling to walk and nearly tripping on her way to his cab.

He explained that she tried to kiss him as he helped her out of the car but that he pulled away as he is married.

He said: “She didn’t want to leave the car, she was chatting, chatting. I wanted to get her out the car – I had been given another job at the airport. She tried to kiss me.”

He added that he’d had his taxi license suspended over the claim.

Sheriff Frances McCartney found him not guilty, saying she didn’t believe his accuser.

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said Tumwesigye could apply to get his licence back.

This is interesting, not just because of the normal different burdens of proof between criminal trials and licensing committees - the latter could still stop the driver getting his licence back despite being cleared by the sheriff court - but because it's not clear whether he was licensed by East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, or both.

The original report of the allegation didn't even mention the taxi angle, it was just an "East Renfrewshire" man charged with sexual assault in a car park:

East Renfrewshire man charged with sexual assault in Paisley car park

AN East Renfrewshire man has appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a Paisley car park.

Nerbert Tumwesigye is said to have abused the woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, in Thornly Park Gardens on January 2.

Mr Tumwesigye, 37, denies sexually assaulting her by putting his hands on her face, kissing her on the mouth and putting his tongue in her mouth without consent.

He pleaded not guilty to the single charge against him, brought under Section 3 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, when he appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court last week.

Sheriff Frances McCartney continued the case against Mr Tumwesigye, of Thornliebank, until August for a trial to take place, while a pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for July.

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That was in May, but a report a month later said he'd been suspended by Glasgow City Council while awaiting trial:

Glasgow private hire driver's licence suspended over sexual assault charges

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/1631 ... t_charges/

A PRIVATE hire driver accused of sexual assault has had his private hire licence suspended.

Nerbert Tumwesigye was described as a “serious threat to public safety” by police.

He allegedly sexually assaulted a woman passenger by kissing her twice without consent.

Mr Tumwesigye maintains he is innocent and said he will clear his name.

The driver was cautioned and charged and appeared from custody in court on May 18 with a bail condition not to visit the street of the incident.

A police spokeswoman said: “Mr Tumwesigye’s private hire licence was immediately suspended after the incident for six weeks as it was deemed his driving would cause a serious threat to public safety.”

The accused appeared before the Licensing and Regulatory Committee at Glasgow City Council on Thursday.

He failed to defend his case, that he should keep his licence despite the crime he is alleged to have committed.

Councillor Graham Campbell of the SNP moved a motion to allow Mr Tumwesigye to continue operating as a private hire driver.

He was supported by Labour councillors John Kane and James Coleman and Conservative Robert Connelly.

Mr Campbell’s SNP colleagues, led by Councillor Alex Wilson, wanted to stop the driver operating on the advice of Police Scotland and moved a motion to suspend his licence.

Councillors Rhiannon Spear and Alexander Belic supported Mr Wilson, as well as Labour’s Hanif Rajah.

As there were four councillors for each motion, Mr Wilson as convener got a deciding vote to suspend the licence.

A trial is due to take place on August 23.

Mr Tumwesigye was granted the grant of his private hire car driver’s licence by the council on March 16 2018 for a period of three years with an expiry date of February 28 2021.

The Licensing Section received a complaint from the Chief Constable, Police Scotland on May 21 requesting his private hire car driver’s licence be suspended with immediate effect.

On May 23, the licence was suspended and councillors had to decide whether to continue the suspension.

When asked if he had anything to say, by Mr Wilson, the driver said: “I like to be with my licence since I’m not guilty.”

Mr Wilson said: “We have to look at your case on its own merits – if we are minded to suspend your licence today, til what time do you think it would be suitable?

The man said until after his trial on August 26, where he will hope to clear his name.

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Note it says the driver was granted a Glasgow badge on March 16, while police requested a suspension a couple of months later.

The alleged offence took place on January 2, so looks like he was granted a Glasgow badge three months after that, but before police had requested a suspension in May.

So presumably it took a few months after the incident to actually charge him and then suspend his licence(s).

So presumably he still had an East Renfrewshire badge a few months after the incident, and also successfully applied for a Glasgow badge before police requested a suspension

Can’t belive he defended himself, it may not have even reached court if he hadn’t.

Me neither, suppose he was trying to save on costs, it sadly backfired.

Surely he does not have to reapply for his license to be reinstated,the suspension only needs to be lifted by the Council who imposed it,I would think that the Council will be liable for loss of earnings if his license is not reinstated immediately.

Unfortunately for the driver that's not how it works though - in a criminal prosecution the case against the accused has to be almost rock solid for a guilty verdict, whereas in a licensing case it's basically which side the councillors on the committee think is telling the truth.

So if the councillors believe the complainant rather than the driver in this case then he might not get his badge back (on the other hand, even if they do think he did it, it's still open to councillors to reinstate his badge.)

Thus it's basically down to the different burdens of proof between criminal and civil cases.

In fact quite a high profile case in point in Scotland in the last few days. Guy and girl hook up in a club in St Andrews, go back to her place, guy ends up accused of rape.

Guy wasn't found guilty in the criminal courts, so the girl sued him in the civil court. Sheriff believed the girl's version of events, so the guy had raped the girl, and he has to pay her £80,000 damages.

Interesting analysis here for anyone a bit anoraky about burdens of proof, due process etc:

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/169 ... l-reasons/

The taxi thing is essentially the same, main difference is that councillors can't award damages, they can just take the driver's badge and livelihood from him.

By the way, not sure if you're maybe again overanalysing things here, but it's not clear what happened to his East Renfrewshire badge. Could be that it was revoked, in which case he would certainly have to reapply.

But certainly looks like his Glasgow badge was suspended, so he'll have to get that licence reinstated, but not sure if "apply to get licence back" is strictly the correct terminology.

No way he did.

The comment about evidence in his own defence means he gave evidence himself, not that he defended himself.

General rule of thumb is if you are up for a crime that could lead to custody, then you will get legal aid.

_________________
IDFIMH

This is the quote that should ensure he gets his license back.

_________________
IDFIMH

As I thought, an alternative version of the case isn't quite so full on as the Sun's 'lying to cops' version - here it's she 'admitted changing her story'.

And still no mention of the Glasgow badge, but whether or not he'll try to get that back and/or the East Renfrewshire one remains to be seen.

But at least the *defence solicitor* gets a mention


Barrhead taxi driver cleared of sex attack on woman in car park

http://www.barrheadnews.com/news/169887 ... -car-park/

A BARRHEAD taxi driver who lost his job after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a car park has been cleared after she admitted changing her story.

Nerbert Tumwesigye, 37, became a driver with Compass Cars after leaving his job as a carer.

But the married dad-of-two lost his licence and his job after a passenger accused him of a sex attack.

He was said to have assaulted the woman, who can’t be named due to legal rules protecting alleged sex abuse victims, after dropping her off following a festive night out with her family.

The 27-year-old woman claimed he put his hands on her face, kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth without consent.

She told police he abused her in a car park in Paisley on January 2 this year after picking her up in Neilston.

Mr Tumwesigye denied breaking the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 by assaulting her without consent and went on trial at Paisley Sheriff Court.

However, after his alleged victim admitted she had given a different version of events to police officers to what she said in court, the Ugandan was cleared of all wrongdoing.

She told the court she “began to feel slightly uncomfortable” the minute she got into the taxi because she was by herself and it was dark.

But in her police statement, which was read to the court, she said she chatted with Mr Tumwesigye when she got into his cab.

The woman also said in evidence that she only had one glass of wine on the night in question and did not give him her full name when they were talking about adding each other on Facebook.

However, her police statement revealed she told officers she’d had at least four glasses of wine and had given the driver her full name.

She admitted giving different versions of events but said it was “an honest mistake,” adding: “I don’t remember bits of it happening. It was a long time ago.”

The woman maintained she had been telling the truth in her statement when she said the cabbie had kissed her twice, leaving her “shocked, frightened and scared.”

Her mother also gave evidence, telling the court she had received a phone call from her daughter, who was “pretty distraught.”

The witness added: “She said she’d been assaulted. She did mention she’d been kissed by the taxi driver.

“She phoned in terrible distress. I had to get to her.”

Mr Tumwesigye, who moved to Scotland in 2010, gave evidence in his own defence, saying he had helped his accuser both in and out of the taxi after noticing her struggling to walk and nearly tripping on her way to his vehicle.

He added that she tried to kiss him as he helped her out of the car but that he pulled away as he is married.

Mr Tumwesigye said: “She didn’t want to leave the car, she was chatting, chatting.

“I wanted to get her out the car. I had been given another job at the airport.

“She tried to kiss me. She brought her lips towards me and I tried to dodge it.”

Defence solicitor Tony Callahan asked Sheriff Frances McCartney to acquit his client, adding: “The prosecutor says the case is finely balanced and, if it’s finely balanced, there can only be one outcome – and that’s acquittal – because the Crown have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Sheriff McCartney then found Mr Tumwesigye not guilty.

He told him: “The Crown have not proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.

“I accept your evidence. I do not accept the evidence of the complainer.”

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesman said Mr Tumwesigye, who lives in Thornliebank, could apply to get his taxi licence back.

He added: “Anyone can apply to the council for a licence and each application is considered separately.”