Crime student lied that taxi driver raped her after he refused kebab-soaked money
Sophie Pointon left the taxi driver’s life in ruins after the false accusation that was sparked when he refused to accept a kebab-soaked £10 note.
She lied to police saying that she had been attacked by the father-of-five who was tracked down and kept in custody for six hours.
Her victim, a devout Muslim, said that he had been religiously tainted by what had been said and was shunned by friends and members of his community in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
He was banned from entering their homes, was stripped of his taxi licence for four weeks and unable to make any money.
He told the court: ‘I am now extremely reluctant to take lone females in case I am accused again.
‘The girl who accused me is the same age as my own daughter – I cannot comprehend why she made this allegation.
‘I feel religiously tainted from this, and no help from the police or the courts can help that.’
Speaking about the stress he suffered at the hands of the fake claims, he added: ‘Friends stopped speaking to me and letting me in to their homes.
‘People in my community do not even want to be seen with me.’
Pointon’s lies were untangled thanks to the information from the taxi’s GPRS.
Prosecutor Kate Bisset said the driver described Pointon as being ‘extremely drunk’ when she got into his cab.
She threw the money at him when they got to Hyde Park, Leeds, but it was covered in oil.
She then became abusive and ran around the cab opening the doors.
The prosecutor said: ‘He did not think much of it at the time because such incident with people who are intoxicated are not unusual.’
A recording of a conversation between the driver and a phone operator at his taxi office supported his account.
The court heard a GPS tracker fitted to the car also revealed Pointon’s description of the taxi journey to be untrue.
Pointon broke down in tears and asked if she could drop the charges when her account was challenged by police.
She pleaded guilty to perverting justice.Denise Breen-Lawton, mitigating, said Pointon, from Manchester, had been studying in Leeds at the time.
She said her hopes of becoming a police officer were now ruined. She was jailed for 16 months.
Judge Christopher Batty told her: ‘Your malicious complaint has done a huge disservice to those seeking justice through the police and courts.’
The driver described in a statement how the false allegation had caused him to suffer from stress.
http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/19/crime...sed-kebab-soaked-money-6939738/#ixzz4tJwPtlXL
Sophie Pointon left the taxi driver’s life in ruins after the false accusation that was sparked when he refused to accept a kebab-soaked £10 note.
She lied to police saying that she had been attacked by the father-of-five who was tracked down and kept in custody for six hours.
Her victim, a devout Muslim, said that he had been religiously tainted by what had been said and was shunned by friends and members of his community in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
He was banned from entering their homes, was stripped of his taxi licence for four weeks and unable to make any money.
He told the court: ‘I am now extremely reluctant to take lone females in case I am accused again.
‘The girl who accused me is the same age as my own daughter – I cannot comprehend why she made this allegation.
‘I feel religiously tainted from this, and no help from the police or the courts can help that.’
Speaking about the stress he suffered at the hands of the fake claims, he added: ‘Friends stopped speaking to me and letting me in to their homes.
‘People in my community do not even want to be seen with me.’
Pointon’s lies were untangled thanks to the information from the taxi’s GPRS.
Prosecutor Kate Bisset said the driver described Pointon as being ‘extremely drunk’ when she got into his cab.
She threw the money at him when they got to Hyde Park, Leeds, but it was covered in oil.
She then became abusive and ran around the cab opening the doors.
The prosecutor said: ‘He did not think much of it at the time because such incident with people who are intoxicated are not unusual.’
A recording of a conversation between the driver and a phone operator at his taxi office supported his account.
The court heard a GPS tracker fitted to the car also revealed Pointon’s description of the taxi journey to be untrue.
Pointon broke down in tears and asked if she could drop the charges when her account was challenged by police.
She pleaded guilty to perverting justice.Denise Breen-Lawton, mitigating, said Pointon, from Manchester, had been studying in Leeds at the time.
She said her hopes of becoming a police officer were now ruined. She was jailed for 16 months.
Judge Christopher Batty told her: ‘Your malicious complaint has done a huge disservice to those seeking justice through the police and courts.’
The driver described in a statement how the false allegation had caused him to suffer from stress.
http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/19/crime...sed-kebab-soaked-money-6939738/#ixzz4tJwPtlXL
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