Sex attacker lures vulnerable teen into car after pretending to be a taxi driver
A “calculated and predatory” man has been jailed after luring a teenage girl into a car by pretending to be a taxi driver.
Ricardas Mikuckis, 33, denied assaulting the then-18-year-old in Cardiff in the early hours of 29 August 2019.
But he was convicted by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court and jailed for 15 months on Friday.
In “chilling” CCTV footage, Mikuckis was seen loitering in his red Ford Kuga on Greyfriars Road when the woman left a club looking for a taxi.
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He watched the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, talking to a taxi driver who lent her his phone so she could call someone about providing the fare home.
As she walked off, Mikuckis then pulled his car up alongside her.
The victim believed him to be a licensed taxi driver so go into his car, expecting him to take her home to Barry.
But as they neared the town, Mikuckis took an unexpected turn off Barry Docks Link Road into a secluded lane.
Watch: NHS encourages people to seek help if they are victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault
The victim began to tell him he was going the wrong way but Mikuckis stopped his car, got out, locked the doors and started smoking a cigarette.
He then got back in the car and sexually assaulted the victim by kissing and touching her.
She managed to fight him off and flee the scene before flagging down a passing vehicle, telling the driver she had been attacked.
Police trawled through CCTV and traced Mikuckis, who was then arrested.
Following his conviction, Sergeant Mark Wonnacott, the officer in the case, said: “Having viewed the CCTV and interviewed the distraught victim in this case, I have no doubt that Ricardas Mikuckis is a calculated and predatory individual who went out that night looking for a vulnerable woman to prey upon.
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“The CCTV is chilling, and what happened to the young victim in this case is every woman’s worst nightmare.
“Her courage in fighting him off that night, and in supporting this prosecution throughout to ensure this dangerous individual is jailed, is commendable.
“This has had a devastating impact on her, shattering her confidence and her trust in others, and I only hope that today’s sentencing provides her with some closure and enables her to begin rebuilding her life.
“I also hope it provides other victims of sexual assault, who may be reluctant to come forward, with the confidence to do so.”
Watch: Man filmed fleeing after sex assault on child
