Rideshare driver who sexually assaulted two women fails in bid to keep name secret

One of the two women sexually assaulted by an Ola rideshare driver says she is speaking out in the hope no-one else experiences her ordeal.

Sajid Mehmood pleaded guilty to two charges of sexually assaulting women in his car while working in Auckland city late at night.

But on Wednesday the 50-year-old asked the Auckland District Court to give him permanent name suppression and a discharge without conviction. His lawyer said his client had kept the charges from his community, his wife and family.

In her victim impact statement, read to the court by advocate Ruth Money, the survivor told Judge Kevin Phillips that granting the driver a discharge without conviction and name suppression would mean he could go back to his job as a driver and put more women at risk.

“He has already hurt two of his passengers and I am gravely concerned there were more who did not report his unsafe and creepy behaviour…

“We were brave to come forward and report his offending. If he gets a discharge what would’ve been the point, if he returns to the same position of power…?”

She told the court the offending had left her feeling unsafe and she had sought counselling.

“I initially never wanted to go to the police about this incident because I wanted to take the easier way out but knowing that I am preventing this happening to other vulnerable women helps me to know I made the right choice.”

Judge Kevin Phillips said Mehmood had kept the nature of the offending from his wife, his family and the mosque and school where he lived.

He said Mehmood offended against two young women in his car, late at night.

And while the judge acknowledged there is likely to be impacts on Mehmood’s family, that was a natural consequence of his offending.

Judge Phillips said the public had the right to know of Mehmood’s offending. He said the public placed a high amount of trust in ride-share companies.

“The need for the school, the teachers and community, the children and the participators at rhe mosque need to know that a person, a part of their community, has been held account for offending against vulnerable young women.”

Judge Phillips declined to grant a discharge without conviction or name suppression.

He sentenced Mehmood to 200 hours of community work, 9 months of supervision, and ordered to pay reparation of $750 to each woman.

“You intentionally took advantage of two women in your vehicle who intently trusted you… I see you have attempted to minimise the criminal culpability of your offending and your actions,” Judge Phillips said.

Court documents released to Stuff show the driver was working in town in the early hours of December 31, 2021 when he accepted a fare from a woman.

When he pulled up he leaned over and opened the front passenger door, saying “hello, hello, very nice.”

When the woman went to sit in the back seat, the driver told her “no, you in the front.”

The woman walked past the open door and sat in the back, reminding the driver of Covid-19 restrictions. At the time, Auckland was under the orange traffic light restrictions that included the requirement to wear face masks on public transport and spaced seating.

The driver kept insisting – but she laughed off his repeated requests.

The driver told her “you look very nice” and said he liked her perfume. His comments made the woman uncomfortable, and she began recording his advances on her cellphone.

In her statement to police, she described the man as “creepy” and that he made her “super nervous”.

Court documents show when they arrived at her address, the driver turned and extended his hand through the gap in the front seats, wishing her a happy new year.

She shook his hand but as she did so he moved his hand up her wrist and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her towards him.

He then asked “can I?”

She responded “no” and got out of the car.

The woman made a complaint to the police on the same day. In her statement she explained her motivations for coming forward.

“I am not emotionally traumatised by this, but I just wouldn’t want this to happen to someone else.”

Police documents released to Stuff under the Official Information Act provide a glimpse behind the scenes of the investigation and show police treated the complaint seriously and took prompt action.

On the same day the complaint was made, a detective made an application to the Auckland District Court for a production order – a formal request for information from a third party – in this case the driver’s employer, Ola.

The court application shows police were after records of the driver’s location around the time of the offending and any CCTV footage from inside the car.

The production order released to Stuff under the Official Information Act has been heavily redacted. It is not possible to determine how much information the police shared with Ola, but Stuff understands it did not include the alleged offence.

However, the company knew their driver was being investigated by the police as a result of the production order.

Ola responded later the same day, confirming they’d received the order. The company also sent through information on the trip and asked for further details of the allegation, explaining they had obligations to report to Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency).

But the driver was allowed to continue driving.

Four days later, on January 10, 2022, at 4am, the driver picked up a female passenger who sat in the front seat.

The driver told her “you smell good, I like your perfume” before touching her knee and running his hand up her thigh.

He continued to try and make small talk, but the woman did not engage.

She reported the touching to Ola who in turn alerted police by email.

“We have now since banned this driver” Ola wrote to the detective, “I hope this doesn’t impact your investigation, however he clearly cannot be trusted transporting passengers around.”

Ola also forwarded the trip information and details of the second survivor who later made a formal complaint to the police.

In August Stuff reported Ola knew the driver was being investigated by police but allowed him to drive for a further four days – until he sexually assaulted another woman in his car.

The second survivor of the driver’s offending told Stuff that Ola owes her an explanation.

“The main perpetrator in my eyes, as I’m the second victim, is Ola… They gave him the environment to keep assaulting passengers.”

She said the experience had put her off using rideshare companies.

The woman said she had heard of parents trusting rideshare companies to transport their children unaccompanied.

“I could not imagine putting a child or teenager by themselves with a stranger who has complete control and could have assaulted someone a few days before and still be on the road.”

She wants to see tighter regulations on rideshare companies and drivers.

“Public safety should be more important than these big company profits and false sense of security.”

Waka Kotahi’s Andrew Galloway has told Stuff that even if the driver’s application for a discharge without conviction was successful, it would not prevent the authority from revoking his passenger licence.

He said while Ola did not notify Waka Kotahi of the police investigation within the required 48 hours, the company did ask police for further details. He said since the incident, Ola has agreed in future to notifying Waka Kotahi if they receive production orders relating to drivers in the future.

Stuff contacted Ola’s New Zealand chief executive Brian Dewil in August to ask why the driver was not stood down following the first complaint, if Ola had apologised to both women and whether the public can have faith in Ola’s processes. Dewil did not respond.