QAMAR ZAMAN, KEIGHLEY CAB DRIVER, SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS FOR SEX ATTACK ON 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL
In September 2017, Qamar Zaman, a 40-year-old cab driver from Stockbridge, Keighley, was sentenced to three years in prison for a sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl.The court heard that Zaman had followed the girl in his car as she walked home from school on December 14, 2015, and threatened to rape her.
Prosecutor Jayne Beckett described how Zaman approached the girl, seized her by the hips, and demanded she perform a sex act, saying he wanted oral sex.
When she tried to run away, frightened, Zaman got out of his vehicle, confronted her directly, and tried to pull her towards his car, according to the court.
The girl managed to escape and ran home crying.
The police were called, and while they were taking her to the station, she identified Zaman in the street.
He was arrested and initially denied the allegations.
During sentencing, Recorder Tahir Khan QC emphasized that Zaman had failed to show remorse, stating, “You have not accepted any wrongdoing or shown any regret or remorse for what you did.” The judge also noted that Zaman posed a high risk of reoffending, especially given this was his second sexual offence, the first being in 2011 involving a pregnant woman.
Zaman, who was previously dismissed in 2011 by a private hire firm after sexually molesting a pregnant woman, was also subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the sex offender register without a time limit.
His lawyer, Austin Newman, highlighted that Zaman had lost his job as a takeaway driver and that his health issues and limited English would make imprisonment particularly difficult for him.
In 2011, Zaman was convicted of sexually assaulting a pregnant woman after a jury trial.
The incident involved him rubbing her stomach and making inappropriate physical contact, as well as calling her beautiful, grabbing her wrist, and kissing her on the cheek.
He was sentenced to unpaid work but was dismissed from his job following the conviction, which also meant he would not be eligible for another cab license due to the criminal record.
