Gurmeet Singh assaulted woman in his own cab 3 years ago.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: New York City cab driver Gurmeet Singh, who was convicted earlier this month on charges of having raped a woman in his cab in 2011, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Singh (42) was facing a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars, but was ultimately given a term just five years shy of that. Members of Singh’s family and inner circle told the court that the rape was not characteristic of his behavior, and plead for leniency in his case, but these were ultimately ignored in light of the harrowing testimony given by the victim.
Sing was convicted by a Queens court on May 2, on charges of predatory sexual assault, robbery, and assault. According to prosecutors, the unnamed victim hailed Singh’s cab after returning from a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the city. The cab ride, however, ultimately resulted in Singh violently attacking the 29 year-old woman in his cab.
The woman fell asleep in Singh’s cab en route to her destination, but when she woke up, Singh was on top of her. Singh gagged and blindfolded the woman, raping her as he held a knife to her throat. He also stole the victim’s cell phone, as well as $20. She suffered minor injuries to her face, and told the court that she was severely traumatized by the incident.
The victim testified that she believed Singh had every intention of killing her that night. After the sentence was announced, she told local media that she was happy the crime would not go unpunished, and that she was not silenced by the incident, but rather empowered by it.
Reports have surfaced that Singh has had a checkered past, legally speaking. He was implicated in a similar sexual assault incident a few years earlier, which allegedly occurred in Harlem, but formal charges were never brought against him. According to the New York Daily News, Singh’s defense lawyer also admitted to the court that his client often paid prostitutes for sexual favors in his cab.
Singh testified that he did not rape the victim, and that the sex was consensual, but this theory was shot down by the jury. He is now serving his lengthy jail sentence; conditions for parole were not announced.