A taxi driver who sexually assaulted a barely conscious passenger before stealing her engagement ring has been sentenced to 10 months in prison, as his victim says she is now a fearful shadow of her former self.
Satinder Satinder, 29, was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday after pleading guilty to non-consensual sexual touching and theft from his passenger, who was 30 at the time.
Court documents said the 45-minute assault was captured on the in-taxi CCTV, which showed Satinder helping the “clearly intoxicated” victim into his cab at about 3:30am in June.
He repeatedly groped her on top of and underneath her shirt and pants, despite the victim trying to push his hands away when she occasionally regained consciousness, the documents said.
Satinder spent three minutes twisting her engagement ring off, and pulled her top down before putting his face over her breasts.
He dropped the victim at her house, fleeing before being paid a fare, and was arrested the next day by federal police at Melbourne’s international airport.
“[The offending] was repulsive and as wrong as it could possibly be,” magistrate Kay Robertson said in her sentencing remarks.
“You were employed as a taxi driver. You were in a position of trust. People in this community, particularly young people and vulnerable people, rely on taxi drivers safely taking them to their destination.
“I have to send a message to taxi drivers, and ride-share drivers, that there will be punishment if they breach that trust … particularly when that passenger is vulnerable.”