A taxi driver drove for an hour while a woman was sexually assaulted in the back of his car and did nothing.
Jojo Joseph Thirunilam was paid off by Omed Mahmood in the early hours of Sunday, October 31, 2021 to take him and an unconscious 18-year-old from a club in Warrington to his home in Atherton. At around 5am CCTV shows Mahmood pulling the girl towards a taxi rank as she attempted to walk away from the 39-year-old.
The taxi was initially ordered to go to Liverpool but once the victim fell asleep, Mahmood signalled for the taxi to be redirected to his home in Atherton in Greater Manchester. He could be seen handing a number of banknotes to the 49-year-old driver before the taxi turned around and drove to Mahmood's home address.
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During the journey, which lasted around an hour, the victim was repeatedly sexually assaulted while she was unconscious and the taxi driver watched from the front and made licking gestures with his tongue. Before that night, there was no previous association between Mahmood and Thirunilam, with neither of them knowing each other.
The taxi arrived at Mahmood's address shortly after 6am, with him forcefully pulling the victim from the taxi and into his home. Once he and the victim were in the flat, Mahmood sexually assaulted her while she was in and out of consciousness. Almost two hours later the victim woke up distressed and managed to leave the flat before finding a nearby shop where she raised the alarm, at which point police arrived.
Omed Mahmood, of Brooklands Avenue, Atherton, pleaded guilty to attempted rape and four counts of sexual assault in the taxi, and following a trial which ended on March 3, he was found guilty of attempted rape, sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault in connection to the offences in his address. He was remanded and jailed today (May 31, 2022) for nine years at Bolton Crown Court.
Jojo Joseph Thirunilam, of Cronulla Drive, Warrington, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding Mahmood to commit the sexual offences earlier this year and was jailed today (May, 31 2022) for 18 months at Bolton Crown Court. He has also been made to sign onto the Sexual Offender Register and his taxi licence was suspended by the council.
Detective Sergeant Andrew Devine, from GMP’s Wigan CID, said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the victim and her family who have understandably been through a horrific time, especially during the trial where explicit details were heard. Detectives immediately launched an investigation and arrested Mahmood within 48 hours of the incident. They carefully pieced together hours off CCTV to understand the events of that night.
“Mahmood is a sexual predator and his monstrous actions that saw him prey on a vulnerable young woman are absolutely unspeakable. I’m glad he is behind bars and the streets are a safer place for women without him. Thirunilam could have helped the victim and prevented the sexual assaults from happening in his vehicle, but instead he chose to watch and encourage Mahmood despite not even knowing him.
“Violence against women and girls is one of GMP’s priorities and officers are working every day to make the region a safer place. We will use absolutely every power we have available to us to protect women from perpetrators like these two men.”
