Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. Young women in New York faced the tough decision between driving drunk and getting arrested (thus needing a NYC DUI Attorney) or calling a cab and risk being sexually assaulted.
Perhaps that decision has been made easier with the recent news that cab driver Gurmeet Singh was arrested in connection with a string of taxi cab rapes.
With the help of DNA evidence, Singh is accused of raping a 26-year-old East Village woman last May at knifepoint, reports the New York Post. The woman was apparently drunk in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and needed a ride home to Manhattan. The unidentified woman passed out in the cab and allegedly woke to find herself bound with a scarf while Singh raped her. After the rape, Singh allegedly stole the woman's phone and $20.
Singh is also a suspect in the assault of a 31-year-old woman in Harlem last September, reports the Post. Similarly, the victim was intoxicated and hailed the suspect's cab to get home. After the assault, she was robbed of her things.
Singh has been driving a cab since 1999 and has no criminal record. However, for the alleged rapes, the driver could face a class B felony charge and up to 25 years in jail for each offense. Using force to rape someone (like using a knife or binding someone's hands) is considered the most serious rape offense.
Gurmeet Singh is accused of raping two women who got into his cab after a night out drinking. For the taxi cab rape, Singh could face a long time behind bars.
Related Resources:
- Find a New York City Criminal Lawyer (FindLaw)
- Taxi driver Gurmeet Singh, charged in rape, says he picked up hookers, record shows (New York Daily News)
- Sex Crimes (FindLaw)
- Jason Quinones Offers Consensual Rape as Rape Defense (FindLaw's New York Criminal Law Blog)
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