No prison for Uber sex creep who manhandled female passenger

A Uber driver and father of four daughters who sexually assaulted his 20-year-old female passenger as he drove her home has avoided jail.

Asadullah Amanullah, 40, stroked the woman’s leg and tried to kiss her after he picked her up from outside the Home House nightclub in Geelong at 4am on November 18 last year, the Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.

Police prosecutor Jacki Davis told the court Amanullah grabbed the woman’s right arm and demanded she kiss him as she attempted to exit his car outside her house.

Leading Senior Constable Davis said Amanullah told the woman “You have to kiss me now or else” when they arrived at her home, and that his lips grazed her cheek when he attempted to kiss her.

The court heard the woman fled inside her home, locked the doors and reported the matter to police later that day.

Amanullah — who had completed about 2000 Uber trips and attained a five-star rating before he preyed on the woman — denied the incident occurred when quizzed by police, Sen-Constable Davis said.

Yesterday in court he pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault.

Magistrate Ann McGarvie told Amanullah he would not want his daughters subjected to the similar unwanted advances by other men.

“You have four daughters yourself, you would be horrified if someone did this to any of your daughters.” Ms McGarvie said.

“I hope that this is just a one-off occurrence and that it doesn’t ever occur again.

Amanullah was convicted and put on an 18-month community corrections orders under which he will undergo treatment for his behaviour and judicial supervision.

The prosecution applied to have Amanullah placed on the sex offenders list for eight years but Ms McGarvie decided against it.

Amanullah’s lawyer Simon Northeast told the court his client had lost his job due to the incident and was now working in an abattoir.

The court heard Amanullah fled Afghanistan as a 17-yearold and arrived in Australia in 2012 on a humanitarian visa.

Mr Northeast said that his client was in the process of applying for Australian citizenship.