A taxi driver who sexually assaulted three young women within two weeks has had his case adjourned for a second time as a previously ordered psychological report has not been completed.
Mansoor Uddin (41), a married father of three, of Castleway, Adamstown, Lucan, pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial last February at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault on January 30th 2016 and two sexual assaults on February 16th 2016.
At a sentence hearing last month the court heard that as part of his bail conditions a female passenger was not permitted to be a front seat passenger in Uddin’s taxi.
On Wednesday, Seamus Clarke SC, defending, indicated that there had been a lot of media attention surrounding the case in April and this has had huge repercussions on Uddin’s family.
He said he wished to clarify the position in relation to his client’s bail and told the court that Uddin’s licence was revoked following his guilty plea in February.
“The reality is that his bail condition was that if he had a single passenger they had to sit in the back of the vehicle. Once he pleaded guilty his licence was revoked,” Mr Clarke told Judge Sinéad Ní Chulacháin before he said that Uddin had not actually worked as a taxi driver since November last year.
Counsel said as part of his bail conditions Uddin was also subject to a curfew which meant that he wasn’t permitted to work as a taxi driver at night time. He said the gardaí policed Uddin while on bail and the bail conditions had been put in place by the High Court.
Mr Clarke told the judge that the case had been adjourned last month to allow for the preparation of a psychological report after a direct evidence was heard. He said he was due to address the court on the adjourned date, Wednesday, when he would have dealt with the issues of his bail conditions and the revocation of his licence.
Judge Ní Chulacháin agreed to the adjournment after Mr Clarke indicated that the psychological service wish to carry out one further assessment on Uddin before a report is prepared. She remanded Uddin on continuing bail to May 20 next to allow for the assessment.
The judge said she was “taken aback” that the report was not ready and she couldn’t understand the delay.
She said the victims had been left until the day of the trial until “they got information that that there was to be a plea and now they are still waiting”. She noted that the women “probably had a sleepless night” the night before the trial in anticipation of having to give evidence.
The court heard at the hearing last month that Uddin sexually assaulted two of the women on the same night after demanding that one of them get out of his taxi when he saw her trying to get a photo of his identification.
This 18-year-old victim had also called a friend while in the vehicle and gave her Uddin’s name and some of his taxi number. She tried to take a photograph of Uddin but he stopped her.
At the hearing in April Sergeant Aoife Cronin told Sinéad McMullan BL, prosecuting, that gardaí used CCTV footage, a database of registered public service vehicles and a computer generated likeness from the first victim to identify Uddin.
As part of the garda investigation, officers also used GPS co-ordinates from the HALO taxi app which confirmed that Uddin had travelled the three routes the women had outlined to gardaí.
Sgt Cronin told Ms McMullan that the first woman, a 19-year-old German national, continually pushed Uddin’s hand away as he rubbed her knee and leg while driving. He told her she had “a beautiful heart”.
He also touched her chest area and rubbed her cheek, telling her that she was “the most beautiful girl of the night”. The woman bit Uddin’s finger when he touched her cheek and told him she wanted to get out of the car.
The second victim, a 20-year-old woman, got into Uddin’s taxi upset having had an argument with her boyfriend. He wiped away her tears and rubbed her face and lip before brushing his hand down the right side of her body.
The third woman, an 18-year-old school girl, got into Uddin’s taxi an hour later. He immediately began rubbing her leg telling her how soft her skin was.
She pushed him away and he tried to get his hand into her underwear. Uddin asked her what age she was and when she told him he smiled and said she was “really young”.
Sgt Cronin said this girl noticed that Uddin’s identification was behind the CD player. She accepted a call from a friend while in the taxi and tried to give her some of the details she could read off his identification.
Uddin became very angry, leaned across her, opened her door and told her to get out. She tried to take a photograph of him but he stopped her doing so.