Halifax cab driver gets conditional sentence for sexual assault, no jail time
Posted Oct 12, 2017 01:34:53 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – A former Halifax cab driver convicted in August of sexually assaulting a female passenger was handed a conditional sentence in Halifax Provincial Court on Thursday.
Metro Halifax reports Saher H. Hamdan was given a four-month conditional sentence served at his home, as he will remain under a curfew between 9 p.m.- 6 a.m. during that time unless going to work or because of a medical emergency.
The sentence, handed down by Judge Michael Sherar Thursday, is followed by three years of probation and a number of conditions including a ban on owning or possessing weapons, providing a DNA samples, completing a sex offender treatment program and other counselling deemed necessary by the court.
The victim in the case cannot be named because of a publication ban but was 19-years-old July 15, 2016, when Hamdan picked her up from the Lower Deck in Clayton Park and drove her to a friends house. While they were parked, the woman said Hamdan touched her thigh, slid her seat back, locked the doors and asked if he could kiss her, all without consent.
The incident was interrupted when the victim’s friend tapped on the window and she left the car, Metro reports.
The crown was seeking a four-month prison sentence to be served on weekends in addition to three years of probation, while the defence had asked for probation alone.
Hamdan’s taxi license is suspended pending the outcome of the trial and Metro reports he has not appealed that decision.
