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23-03-2005, 13:14
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'£1' rickshaw driver jailed for rape
23 March 2005
A RICKSHAW driver has been jailed for eight years for raping a drunk passenger he promised to take home for just £1.
Colombian Luis Rozo, 29, was found guilty of attacking the 21-year-old girl in a dark alley off Herbrand Street, St Pancras.
Rozo picked up his victim after a night out in the West End and agreed to take her back to her parents' house in Camden Town for a bargain price.
But instead he pulled up in a dead end and attacked the girl, who had been drinking heavily. But Rozo was unaware that he was being watched by a resident, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Andrew Halsey, 47, saw the rickshaw from his flat and dialled 999.
Jurors listened to a recording of Mr Halsey telling the operator: "There appears to be a lady passed out on the back of one of those cycle taxi things. It looks like she's being raped."
Thanks to Mr Halsey - an epilepsy sufferer who was the first disabled man to row across the Atlantic - police arrived and arrested Rozo before he could flee.
Mr Halsey was commended by Judge John Price and rewarded with £500 for his swift action.
Former Colombian soldier Rozo, of Vauxhall, denied two counts of rape and assault by penetration, claiming the woman had come on to him.
But a jury convicted him of rape by forcing her to give him oral sex. Rozo was cleared of assault by penetration and vaginal rape.
Giving evidence from behind screens, the victim wept as she told jurors that she was "wasted" when she met Rozo at 4am on May 23 last year.
She said: "I remember going over to the rickshaws. We were talking about riding home and were asking for a free ride. He said it would be £10. I said £1 and he said 'That's fine'."
The woman told jurors she said goodbye to her pal and set off.
"I was fine. There were people walking along and I didn't feel threatened."
But as she drifted in and out of consciousness, Rozo pulled into the secluded alley, and forced her to give him oral sex and allegedly raped her.
"I said 'No, please no', but it had no effect on him."
Judge Price called for rickshaw drivers to be licensed. He explained drivers were exempt under current law as they were not "powered" vehicles.
'£1' rickshaw driver jailed for rape
23 March 2005
A RICKSHAW driver has been jailed for eight years for raping a drunk passenger he promised to take home for just £1.
Colombian Luis Rozo, 29, was found guilty of attacking the 21-year-old girl in a dark alley off Herbrand Street, St Pancras.
Rozo picked up his victim after a night out in the West End and agreed to take her back to her parents' house in Camden Town for a bargain price.
But instead he pulled up in a dead end and attacked the girl, who had been drinking heavily. But Rozo was unaware that he was being watched by a resident, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Andrew Halsey, 47, saw the rickshaw from his flat and dialled 999.
Jurors listened to a recording of Mr Halsey telling the operator: "There appears to be a lady passed out on the back of one of those cycle taxi things. It looks like she's being raped."
Thanks to Mr Halsey - an epilepsy sufferer who was the first disabled man to row across the Atlantic - police arrived and arrested Rozo before he could flee.
Mr Halsey was commended by Judge John Price and rewarded with £500 for his swift action.
Former Colombian soldier Rozo, of Vauxhall, denied two counts of rape and assault by penetration, claiming the woman had come on to him.
But a jury convicted him of rape by forcing her to give him oral sex. Rozo was cleared of assault by penetration and vaginal rape.
Giving evidence from behind screens, the victim wept as she told jurors that she was "wasted" when she met Rozo at 4am on May 23 last year.
She said: "I remember going over to the rickshaws. We were talking about riding home and were asking for a free ride. He said it would be £10. I said £1 and he said 'That's fine'."
The woman told jurors she said goodbye to her pal and set off.
"I was fine. There were people walking along and I didn't feel threatened."
But as she drifted in and out of consciousness, Rozo pulled into the secluded alley, and forced her to give him oral sex and allegedly raped her.
"I said 'No, please no', but it had no effect on him."
Judge Price called for rickshaw drivers to be licensed. He explained drivers were exempt under current law as they were not "powered" vehicles.