‘Disgusting’: Fake Uber driver Faizan Abdullah’ vile act
A security guard pretended to be an Uber driver to lure a teen girl into his car before committing the “horrific” attack.
A security guard posed as a rideshare driver to lure a teenage girl into his car before he drove her to an isolated area and sexually assaulted her.
Faizan Abdullah finished his shift as a security guard when he spotted the teenage girl waiting for her ride at Brunswick in February 2021, the Melbourne Magistrates Court was told on Thursday.
He pulled up in front of the then 17-year-old and rolled down his window.
“Uber?” he asked her before encouraging her to get into the passenger seat.
But the girl realised something was wrong when she received a notification from her real Uber driver and started to worry.
Abdullah drove erratically through the backstreets of Brunswick before he pulled over near a factory.
He pinned his victim against a fence when she got out of the car and told her “you’re gorgeous” while he assaulted her.
The 29-year-old was sentenced to 15 months behind bars on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and possessing child abuse material.
In handing down her sentence, magistrate Donna Bakos labelled his crimes as “brazen and outrageous” offending against a young woman who had the right to feel safe.
The Pakistani national initially claimed to police teenager “made moves” on him in the car but later admitted this was not the case.
“He stated she was wearing a short dress which was very appealing,” prosecutor Peter Pickering told the court during the pre-sentence hearing this week.
The PhD student claimed she rubbed his leg and made him feel uncomfortable, the court was told.
Abdullah was arrested at his Elsternwick home shortly after the complaint with police using CCTV footage to track the car used in the assault.
When he was arrested officers seized his phone and uncovered child abuse material including disturbing photos and videos showing victims as young as six months old.
The young woman bravely read a tearful statement about the impact the crimes had on her.
“He has put me through something so disgusting and horrific … my mind and my thoughts will never be the same,” she said.
Abdullah has already served 475 days of his sentence and now faces deportation.
He was also placed on the sex offenders register for eight years.