Newcastle taxi driver denies falsely imprisoning and sexually assaulting woman in his cab
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLiveA taxi driver has denied sexually assaulting and imprisoning a woman in his cab.
David Duduveica is alleged to have carried out the offences on a street in North Shields on August 4 last year. The 24-year-old entered not guilty pleas to charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment during an appearance at Newcastle Crown Court.
Duduveica, of Hampstead Road, in Benwell, Newcastle, was told he will stand trial on October 15 next year. He was further released on bail with conditions that he is not to carry any passengers in a vehicle for gain, he is not to contact prosecution witnesses and must live at the address he gave to the court.
Judge Paul Sloan KC told him: "If, and I stress the word if, you have committed any offence or offences arising out of this allegation, the sooner you tell the court, the better for you, the more credit you will receive, the less severe the punishment will be.
Keep up to date with all the latest court news from the North East with our free newsletter
"The longer you leave it to tell the court, if you have committed any offence or offences, the worse it will be for you, the more severe the punishment will be."
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community