A Toowoomba taxi driver will spend seven weeks in prison after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman passenger in 2020.
Tariq Ali, 45, followed the woman into her house after driving her home and lay on top of her in her bed.
The woman, in her 30s, was out on the night of August 16, 2020 when she saw her ex-partner with another woman at The Cube Hotel.
Sentencing Ali in the District Court, Toowoomba, today, Judge Paul Smith said the victim was intoxicated and emotional when she got into Ali's taxi about 3am.
"You comforted her in the cab. You took her to the front door of the house," Judge Smith said.
"It's hard to say when the sexual intention formed but most likely at or about the front door.
"You followed her down the hallway to the bedroom. You lay on top of her pinning her to the bed.
"You kissed her on the face and neck. She said no. You ultimately desisted and left."
'It was a breach of trust'
Judge Smith said the offending was serious.
"It was a breach of trust. It was a breach of privacy," he said.
"People need to be protected from cab drivers who do this sort of thing.
"This offending does seem out of character … it was crazy that you did this."
Ali had pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault charge and throughout the trial defence barrister Kevin Kelso argued the incident never happened.
Mr Kelso argued his client had a common law duty of care as a taxi driver to his passenger to make sure she got inside her home safely, especially as she was intoxicated in the early hours of a Toowoomba winter's day.
Victim 'burdened with helplessness'
In a victim impact statement read to the court by crown prosecutor Emily Coley, the woman said she could not cope emotionally after the incident.
"I've been burdened with feeling shame, disgust and helplessness following the event," the statement read out by Ms Coley said.
"Which is emotionally exhausting and has made me feel and believe life will no longer return to what I had previously."
The court heard Ali, an Indian and in Australia on a bridging visa, faced the prospect of deportation if his sentence was more than 12 months.
In his sentencing submission, Mr Kelso said Ali was a Muslim and his wife was a Sikh, which led to both their families in India condemning their marriage.
Ali's wife, who was in the courtroom throughout the trial, cried when the verdict was handed down and during the judge's sentencing.
Ali looked straight ahead when the verdict was read out.
"There is a great risk of death going back because they have an inter-religious, or inter-cultural, marriage," Mr Kelso said.
"They will never go back. They love one another and the risks are too great."
He asked that the sentence be less than 12 months to prevent Ali being deported.
Judge Smith sentenced Ali to six months in prison, suspended after seven weeks.
Mr Kelso said Ali had not worked as a taxi driver since the incident.
A conviction was recorded.
