Granville taxi driver Anas Wajid sentenced for rape

Two women raped by a western Sydney taxi driver have detailed the dark, distressing depths they sank to after they were attacked. Warning: upsetting content.

A western Sydney taxi driver has been jailed for raping two women when he was meant to be driving them home. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Warning: distressing.

Two women raped by a western Sydney taxi driver began self-harming, lost their careers and were admitted to hospital with suicidal thoughts after they were each attacked by the man.

Anas Wajid, now 26, was found guilty of three counts of sexual intercourse without consent at a Sydney District Court trial last December.

The first count related to a woman who was vaginally raped in an underground car park on April 25 2019.

The court heard Wajid was meant to drive that woman home to Sydney’s inner west, but instead swapped his taxi for his personal car, began kissing her and then raped her in the passenger seat of his car.

The second and third counts related to vaginally and orally raping a woman as he drove her from Newtown to Sydney’s northern beaches on June 30 2019.

Judge Leonie Flannery said the second woman had groped Wajid’s crotch after passing out on his lap as he drove, mistakenly believing he was her boyfriend – before he said “you got yours, now I’m going to get mine”.

Wajid then forced the woman to the ground, pulled down her pants, pulled her by the leg when she tried to crawl away, and eventually raped her, calling her a “shit lay”.

The woman then gave him oral sex in an effort to escape the situation, promising she would continue to service him if he took her home before screaming for her boyfriend’s help.

In both cases, the women were particularly vulnerable due to their intoxication when Wajid had been enlisted to drive them home after their nights out.

Wajid was sentenced at Downing Centre Local Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A victim support advocate read out statements from both women, unveiling a grim insight into the severe and similar trauma suffered by rape survivors.

“I went into a deep depression almost immediately, I started to cut myself daily to help manage the pain,” the first woman said.

“I did not feel like a person anymore – all I could think about was dying.”

The first and second woman both reported self harming, both were hospitalised for significant stints due to suicidal thoughts and their inability to cope, and both lost their jobs due to how unwell they were following the sickening assaults.

The first woman said her brain was not the same due to extensive electric shock therapy she underwent to address her severe mental health state.

“I’ve come a long way since that day but it still brings me to tears when I think about it,” the first woman said.

“I hope one day I can be the person I used to be.”

The second woman said she might be the only person who was grateful for NSW’s long Covid-19 lockdown in 2021, because she needed the time to heal after regressing into severe depression when she received an email related to the criminal case.

“I lost my job due to being unreliable, I put on 15kg from binge eating junk and was self harming again,” the second woman said.

“I have a beautiful partner who loves me deeply – if this had happened any other time I wouldn’t be here today.”

The court heard Wajid is not remorseful and maintains his innocence. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Judge Flannery said the tragic impacts experienced by both women was unfortunately something the courts have become familiar with.

“They each described the many ways in which his criminal conduct has affected all aspects of their lives,” Judge Flannery said.

“It’s what the courts are increasingly appreciating are the devastating effects of such offending.”

The court heard Wajid is not remorseful and maintains his innocence in respect of both rapes.

A psychologist diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress from witnessing the murder of his father and uncle due to political strife in Pakistan, where he was born, and depression from spending 1063 days in pre-sentence custody including a period in immigration detention.

Judge Flannery found special circumstances applied to Wajid due to the effect Covid-19 had on prisons, and the fact he spent 30 weeks in quarantine or isolation as a result.

He was convicted and sentenced to seven years’ jail, with a four-and-a-half year non-parole period.

With time served, he will first be eligible for parole on March 17 2024.

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