"All were extremely intoxicated, they had no chance of defending themselves."
Ruhen Miah, aged 42, of Newbury, Berkshire, was jailed for 14 years on Friday, September 21, 2018, at Reading Crown Court after admitting to a series of sex attacks on four women.
It was heard that the licensed taxi driver targeted drunk women coming back from nights out in Newbury town centre after vowing to get them home safely.
The women, including three who were 19 and another who was 29, were attacked between January 1 and February 24, 2018.
Two of the January assaults were within 90 minutes of each other.
He raped one woman and sexually assaulted the other three.
Alan Blake, prosecuting, told the Court that Miah’s victims were all vulnerable through drink when they got into his taxi in the early hours.
It was heard that three victims were attacked inside his vehicle and he carried a fourth into a block of flats over his shoulder.
She was then raped inside an apartment that police later discovered belonged to a friend of Miah’s who was out of the country at the time.
At one point, Miah stopped a male friend of one of the victims from getting into his taxi.
Miah was tracked down by detectives after reports emerged of two women who had been attacked by a taxi driver in the town.
Police recovered CCTV footage from Miah’s taxi.
Examination of the footage revealed further sexual attacks on two other women.
DNA evidence recovered from the vehicle matched Miah with the crimes.
Bangladesh-born Miah was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of rape and one count of attempted rape.
Mr. Blake said the rape victim recalled: “He kept repeating to her ‘in my country, we are very respectful of women’.”
He said: “Her next memory is him driving her back to the road where she lived and told her she did not have to pay.”
She went to bed and later reported the rape to hospital staff.
During the trial, a psychiatric expert for the defence described him as a “highly dangerous man” at the time.
Dr. Michael Alcock said Miah had been suffering from “adjustment disorder” after losing his restaurant business in 2017.
Michael Wolkind QC, defending, described the father-of-three as a “good man who went wrong for a number of reasons.”
This included his restaurant failing and his relationship with his wife deteriorating.
West Berkshire Council made all required checks which did not indicate any cause for concern.
They said: “All required checks were completed including the disclosure and barring service check.”
“None of those checks indicated any grounds for concern.”
Miah, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to all charges against him.
Mr. Blake added: “He has pleaded guilty to a series of serious sexual offences, committed against four young females.”
“Three of those were 19 years old and one was 29.”
“All were vulnerable owing to excess consumption of alcohol and relied on him in his capacity as a taxi driver to get home safely.”
One of the victims said that her life is very different now since the assault.
She is unable to sleep and suffers from anxiety and depression.
Another victim describes herself as “damaged goods” adding “this will have a huge impact on my life and being able to trust.”
Sentencing the taxi driver, Judge Angela Morris said: “You took vulnerable females into your clutches for your own sexual gratification.”
“All were extremely intoxicated, they had no chance of defending themselves.”
Judge Morris added that Miah had abused the trust of the victims and their friends who put them in his taxi and urging him to get them home safely.
She said his offending was “concerning and inexplicable”.
Ruhen Miah was jailed for a total of 14 years for his series of sexual assaults.
Five years for assault by penetration. Eight years for an attempted rape and 18 months each for two counts of sexual assault.
The sentences are to be served concurrently.
In a similar case, taxi driver Mohammed Shabir was jailed for 11-and-a-half-years in prison for raping a vulnerable young woman in 2013.
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