‘Stick together’ on nights out, teen victim advises
Friends having nights out must “stick together” says a teenager who was sexually assaulted by a taxi driver after she fell asleep in his cab.
The woman, now aged 20 but only aged 19 when she was sexually violated, was at the Christchurch District Court to see a jury return three guilty verdicts against the driver.
Name suppression has lifted on Mohammed Ahmed Khalil Daradkeh, 35, a single man who has migrated to New Zealand from Jordan. He had denied charges of sexual violation, indecent assault, and abduction for sex, but the jury convicted him of all charges after a retirement of two-and-three-quarter hours.
Daradkeh remained calm as the verdicts were read and as sentencing arrangements were put in place for July 29. Judge Stephen O’Driscoll has called for a pre-sentence report, victim impact statement, and emotional harm report.
He remanded the man in custody and warned that after taking the charges to trial, Daradkeh now faces a “significant sentence of imprisonment”. He will get a three-strikes warning at his sentencing, which warns offenders about heavier sentences if they reoffend.
The trial was told that the woman had been out drinking with friends before a bouncer – who knew her – found her passed out in the toilets at The Monday Room bar.
The evidence was that she had not had much to drink, but was also taking anti-biotics for an eye infection. Her tiredness may be been the result of an interaction between the medication and the drinks she had, it was suggested at the trial.
She said she had no ill-feelings towards the bouncer who found her and put her in a taxi, to be delivered home.
“He did the right thing. You get in a taxi – it’s a safe option. Everyone did the right thing.”
Her friends had known that she had been put in a cab after she had been asking to leave, but they were not ready to end their night out at the time. They had thought she would be safe.
Instead, Daradkeh drove her to a remote location near Chaney’s Corner at the city end of the Northern Motorway. She had fallen asleep in the front passenger seat on the way – the cab’s security camera shows her falling asleep and then it is turned off. The footage was played to the jury on Wednesday, as part of the Crown case.
At Chaney’s, Daradhek sexually violated her with his finger, and kissed her on the neck and breast. His DNA was identified by an ESR scientist in all three places.
His claim was that the woman had “come on” to him during the trip and he had realised he had feelings for her. He claimed that the sexual encounter had been consensual – a proposition rejected by the jury.
The woman said: “A taxi should be a safe haven for people. It is what you are always taught to do.”
But she had other advice for people have a night out. “Stick together. Make sure you look after each other.”
She could not say why she had ended up passed out. “It could have been anything,” she said. “Regardless, it should not have happened.”
Kathy Basire appeared for the Crown; Rupert Glover and April Kelland appeared for Daradkeh.
Category: Focus
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us via: