A fake Uber driver who prowled one of Brisbane's busiest party precincts sexually assaulted five different women on the ride home, a jury has found.
Sampath Sandaruwan Samaranayake, 44, posed as an Uber driver to lure women into his car in the early hours of September 2018.
The jury took less than three hours to find Samaranayake assaulted the five women in separate attacks, forcing them to touch him on the ride home.
He also touched, kissed and exposed himself to the women, with some trapped in the car.
Samaranayake denied the claims in the Brisbane District Court, but was found guilty in Thursday of 18 counts including sexual and indecent assault and deprivation of liberty.
The father of two took the stand on Wednesday, admitting Uber rejected his application because his 2007 Land Rover was considered too old.
The full-time chef said he was under financial pressure and needed a second job to pay to have skin folds removed when he started his own rideshare scheme.
He would trawl the nightclub precinct looking for passengers waiting for Uber drivers and offered to take them home for a cash fee.
Samaranayake would discuss his weight loss and how conscious he remained about the 25 to 30 kilos of skin folds left on his body.
He claimed the women enjoyed chatting, and his alleged victims tried to touch him to comfort him.
In closing, crown prosecutor Sandra Cupina said it was unlikely that five separate women would offer a "sympathy" sex act to a total stranger, and the jury should reject his evidence.
"It's implausible that they would touch his body in any way unless he forced them," she said.
Defence barrister Peter Nolan said his client had behavioural issues.
"He obviously had issues that caused him to act in a way that you might find a bit odd or bizarre, but that doesn't mean he is criminal," Mr Nolan said.
