A private hire taxi driver has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a vulnerable teenage schoolgirl after stopping at a secluded supermarket car park. Farrukh Naseem Butt, 45, pulled his silver VW into the car park and molested the terrified 14-year-old as he drove her home in the early hours of February 16 last year.
The Attack
Butt groped the child's thigh before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek and lips, inserting his tongue into her mouth. He then continued the journey, slipping his hand down the front of the victim's jogging bottoms and touching her vagina under her clothing. The teenager was left traumatised and scared to leave the house following the sickening sex attack.
Trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Butt, of East Kilbride, Glasgow, denied all allegations but was found guilty by a jury after a two-day trial at the capital court on Thursday, June 11. The young victim testified that Butt had given her his mobile number four days before the assault after being booked through the company he worked for. She texted him to collect her from a friend's house in Edinburgh to take her to her home in Midlothian at around 4:30 am on February 16 last year.
The teenager said he told her to sit in the front beside him and during the journey asked if he could stop to smoke a cigarette. She agreed, and he pulled into the car park of the Sainsbury supermarket near Hillend, where he placed his hand on her thigh and kissed her. She told the court: 'He kissed me on the cheek and then snogged me. He put his tongue in my mouth - I told him to stop. I didn't feel comfortable.'
Aftermath
A 16-year-old friend of the victim testified that the girl contacted her the following day, appearing traumatised and worried, before confessing what had happened. The friend said: 'She was scared and didn't really know what to do. She was scared to leave the house, scared to go about. She didn't really want to tell her mum.' Since the attack, the friend noted, the victim 'doesn't go out in the dark' and 'stays close to home these days.'
Defence
Butt, who had been a private hire taxi driver for 18 years, admitted giving the girl his number the week before. He claimed he pulled into the supermarket car park because his vehicle was overheating. He told the jury that while adding water to the engine, the girl voluntarily moved to the front seat, saying it was 'more comfortable.' Under cross-examination by prosecutor Corey Laouadi, Butt strongly denied the assault, stating: 'I never touched her, it never happened like that.'
Verdict
After all evidence was presented, the jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before returning a majority guilty verdict. Sheriff Douglas Keir described the offence as 'a very serious matter' and told Butt that 'all sentencing options are open to the court at this time.' Butt was placed on the sex offenders register on an interim basis, and sentencing was deferred for the preparation of reports until next month.
