No new trial for cabbie convicted of sex assault

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – There will be no new trial for the Vancouver cabbie convicted of sexually assaulting a young woman in the back seat of his cab while she was too drunk to talk.

The 19-year-old woman was drinking at a bar in downtown Vancouver in October, 2007. She was kicked out because she was drunk and throwing up.

Baljit Aulakh picked her up around 1 a.m. and agreed to drive her to Burnaby.

At Aulakh’s trial, the court heard the cab stopped three times before the girl arrived at her destination around 2:19 a.m. Surveillance video from the cab appears to show the woman leaning against the car and vomiting during the first two stops.

What happened during the third stop is unclear because the visor was pulled down to obstruct the view in the back of the cab.

The victim says she remembers a shadowy figure lying over her in the back seat, sexually assaulting her.

“She said it hurt a lot,” the trial judge said. “She said it was shocking and she was not prepared for it.”

When the woman showered the next morning, she felt a painful burning sensation and started to cry. The doctor who examined her said her injuries were consistent with a sexual assault.

Aulakh asked for a new trial, claiming the help he received from his trial lawyer was ineffective and resulted in a miscarriage of justice. His appeal was unanimously dismissed by a panel of three judges.

“Trial counsel had advised the appellant that in his opinion the appellant would have to take the witness stand to secure an acquittal on the sexual assault charge,” Madam Justice Daphne Smith says in her ruling.

“The appellant elected not to testify for undoubtedly sound reasons. I find nothing in trial counsel’s representation of the appellant that could be said to have fallen below the standard of reasonable professional assistance.”

Aulakh was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison two years ago.

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