A man who was mistaken for a taxi driver in Chester has been found guilty of the kidnap, rape and sexual assault of a young woman who killed herself just days after the attack.
A jury at Chester Crown Court has found Masood Mansouri, of Shannon Close in Saltney, guilty on all three counts during the second day of their deliberations today (Thursday, April 30).
The hearing was halted to await the arrival of a defence lawyer who was making his way to the city from Preston.
Judge Raj Shetty, who is presiding over the case, has indicated sentencing may take place later today. The court has now adjourned for lunch ans will resume at 2pm.
The 20-year-old victim from Colwyn Bay gave evidence from beyond the grave as a jury watched a video-taped interview she gave to police two days after the incident which took place in Chester in the early hours of August 10 last year.
Five days later she had taken a fatal overdose.
Mansouri, 33, pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping, serious sexual assault and rape which led to a trial which has lasted almost two weeks.
Prosecutor Nicholas William said the complainant had been to a party with Chester university friends at their halls of residence in Hough Green where she drank cocktails having earlier consumed half a bottle of vodka with orange juice before the group decided to get a taxi to the Bar 69 nightclub in Boughton at around midnight.
After unsuccessfully ringing KingKabs she went on to Hough Green to hail a cab which was when she got into Mansouri’s three series BMW. Despite telling him they must wait for her friends he drove off after about a minute.
Unfamiliar with Chester, she did not become suspicious of the route the driver was taking until she realised they were entering a residential area.
Earlier in the trial, a lawyer representing Masood Mansouri suggested she may have made up the story after regretting having sex.
The court had also been told the alleged victim had a long history of psychiatric problems, which started to manifest at the age of five when she would pull her hair out and suffer from stress-induced asthma attacks.
In July 2009, when she was 15, she was the victim of a sexual assault by an 18-year-old man, who was subsequently prosecuted. Three months later, she was admitted to hospital after taking an overdose of tablets. Multiple overdoses and suicide attempts followed over the years.
But the jury also heard that an analysis of a laptop seized from the home of Mansouri revealed that pornographic videos and images were accessed minutes before the offence is alleged to have occurred.
