The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Man kidnapped student in city
HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED THE WOMAN
A STUDENT was kidnapped and sexually assaulted after getting into a car that she mistakenly thought was a taxi in Newcastle city centre.
The victim had been out celebrating the end of her first year university exams and became disorientated and separated from her friends in an unfamiliar part of town.
She decided to hail a taxi to get back to her student accommodation and when Nazeem Murad pulled over to pick her up, she thought he was a cabbie.
However he wasn’t and instead of taking her home he took her on a “terrifying” 90-minute journey to Tynemouth, during which he sexually assaulted his captive passenger. The victim became very distressed and begged Murad to take her home, which he eventually did.
The 38-year-old, formerly of Hadrian Road, Fenham, Newcastle, fled the UK before his trial but a jury convicted him of kidnap and sexual assault. He has now been jailed for four years in his absence and must also sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Sentencing him, Judge Julie Clemitson said: “She stood at what she believed to be a taxi rank and flagged down what she thought was a taxi and opened the door and made some inquiries about being taken home.
“The car was driven by the defendant, who was not a taxi driver and it was not a taxi but he failed to disabuse her of the idea he was a taxi driver and instead said he would take her home. The jury must have been sure that from the start the defendant misrepresented his intention to take her home.
“It must have been apparent to him she was in a vulnerable situation. She had been drinking, she was alone, she was distressed. He took her to Tynemouth. She questioned whether they were going the right way and asked repeatedly to be taken home. That drive must have been absolutely terrifying.
“It’s evident from messages she was sending to friends she hoped someone would help her. She feared she was going to be raped and she said in evidence she feared she would be killed.”
The court heard the victim, who was dressed for clubbing, complained she was cold and Murad used that as an excuse to sexually assault her. He touched her thigh close to her crotch and ran his arm across her bare arm and bare back.
Judge Clemitson said: “The touching was long, slow strokes, which terrified her. The journey terrified her. This was all in a moving car.”
At Tynemouth, Murad stopped and pointed out the view and the moon. The judge said: “It was clear he hoped for some further sexual encounter but the level of her distress and the degree to which she begged to go home seems to have penetrated his senses.”
He took her back to Newcastle and engaged in “normal chit chat” on the way and insisted on taking her phone number before she got out and went on to send her messages.
The victim had a shower to “wash him off” and was found sobbing by her housemates. The court heard the impact on her has been wide-ranging and affected her social life and education and left her feeling anxious walking the streets if a man is behind her.
Glenn Gatland, defending, said Murad has no previous convictions and that the offence was opportunistic rather than him posing as a taxi driver.
He added: “She seems to have stopped him, whether by waving her hand or stepping out in front of him then the kidnap by fraud was by him not telling her he was not a taxi driver.”
TO mark International Day of the Midwife, staff at the RVI’S maternity unit in Newcastle have reflected on the “great privilege” of their jobs – and how they see their mission as supporting new parents “from happiness to heartbreak and everything in between”.
At a difficult time for the profession – with recent scandals in other parts of the country having highlighted the need for safe maternity care – midwives in Newcastle spoke of how recognising that every expectant mum is different and providing safe, highquality was always the top priority.
Speaking to The Chronicle, delivery suite midwife Kayle Washburn, 31, said: “Pregnancy and birth have always fascinated me, as it’s absolutely incredible what a woman’s body can do. It’s such a privilege to do our job. There’s nothing more rewarding than bringing somebody into the world – being the first person to ever touch a baby. There are times where it’s not quite so happy, but even then it’s still a privilege to help those women through.”
Kayle – who lives in Wallsend – said seeing the face of someone’s partner “light up” as they meet their child for the first time was an incredible experience, and added: “As you gain more experience you come to realise how every woman is so different. There’s always something new to learn and a new person to look after. We also sometimes support our colleagues too.
“That’s lovely, we have a lovely family here. I could come in every single day and I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love it. When I think about our job on International Day of the Midwife, I always think we support women from happiness to heartbreak and everything in between. For me, that hits the nail on the head.”
Deb Buller is one of the senior midwives at the RVI – having spent 24 years there. Though she now lives an hour’s commute away, she said she couldn’t imagine working elsewhere.
“I’ve been here 24 years and obviously so much has changed,” she said. “But you see the same people having their first baby, then coming back and remembering your faces as they have their second or third, it’s lovely. Obviously midwifery changes but the fundamentals are always caring for women and their families. That’s never changed. They’re always the priority.
“I moved to Redcar but I chose to stay here because I love it so very much. We have such a wonderful family dynamic.”
Associate director of midwifery at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust Jane Anderson added: “International Day of the Midwife gives us a real opportunity each year to stop and pause, think and reflect, about the wonderful work which Midwives across the globe do each and every day.
“Caring for women, birthing people, and their families with compassion requires real dedication, which I am proud to say are true values central to the core of our midwives here at Newcastle Hospitals.”
She said she was “extremely proud” of the team.
International Day of the Midwife is May 5 each year.