Man posed as cabbie before raping student

A MAN who posed as a taxi-driver to persuade a student to get into his car before raping her has been jailed for nine years.

Attif Hamid, of Churchill Road in Bordesley Green, was found guilty of rape at Birmingham Crown Court for the March 24 attack.

The 39-year-old picked up the student, who had been celebrating finishing her dissertation in Digbeth, in the early hours of the morning. She was going to order a taxi but was approached by Hamid who offered to take her home for £10. The 22-year-old agreed but en route she asked Hamid to stop off at two cashpoint machines to get cash to pay him.

The court heard Hamid was angered by this and drove to Selly Oak, where he forced the woman to perform a sex act on him before stealing her phone and leaving her stranded.

But the victim managed to take down the car registration and alert the occupants of a nearby house who called police.

Rhydian James, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Attif Hamid is a dangerous sexual predator who prowled the streets of the city at night in his unlicensed taxi looking for vulnerable women.

“Officers identified Hamid’s car as a Toyota Celica which led to him being arrested at a property in Bordesley Green.

“When he had spotted his prey, he approached the victim, offered to take her home for a low fee and then drove her to a secluded spot where he raped her.”