Dawitt Tessema – Glasgow

AN UBER driver who molested a drunk teenage girl in his taxi was jailed today for two years.

Dawitt Tessema, 46, preyed on the 19-year-old in Glasgow’s Woodlands on September 15 2023.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that the victim was picked up from Buff Club in the city centre at 2.40am.

The victim was sat behind the passenger seat and was described as “very drunk.”

Prosecutor Lauren Sangray told jurors in her closing speech: “Tessema parked outside a street.

“He put his hand through the centre console and tried to touch her on the body and leg but could not reach.

“He then went in the back of the car and touched her under her pants that were still on.

“The victim could not remember how the incident came to an end.”

Jurors heard that the teenager woke up the next day and felt “embarrassed.”

The victim told her flatmate about what happened before she made a complaint to Uber.

Before she made the complaint, Tessema texted his victim: “I’m really sorry, please forgive me, please, please.”

Tessema, of the city’s Carntyne, was then arrested.

He told officers: “I have to stop, I made a big mistake.”First offender Tessema was found guilty of the sexual assault.

Sheriff John McCormick said: “You accepted the trust of a passenger in your vehicle.

“There, you had a 19-year-old female who had drunk alcohol to excess.

“You took advantage of her in the confines of your taxi which was a gross breach of trust.”

Tessema was put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.