An Uber driver, who groomed a tipsy 14 year-old schoolgirl for sex, was warned by a judge he faces being locked-up after a jury convicted him today.
Spyros Ntounis, 35, of Luminosity Court, 49 Drayton Green Road, West Ealing was later black-listed by the company after complaints from three others female passengers.
“It is troubling, the circumstances of this offence, particularly as I heard about his previous behaviour in an Uber taxi that the jury did not hear about,” said Judge Timothy Lamb QC.
“His services were dispensed with by Uber because of complaints by three females about his conversation in the car.”
The Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court jury unanimously convicted Ntounis of one count of attempting to meet a child after sexual grooming between April 21 and 25, last year.
He showed no reaction as the guilty verdict was read and will be sentenced on March 19.
“You have been convicted by the jury, I need a report on you,” Judge Lamb told him. “I’ll give you your liberty for the moment, but don’t think that because I’m doing that you will avoid a custodial sentence.
“You could be going to prison.”
Ntounis’ lawyer Miss Laurie-Anne Power asked: “In the circumstances and because of the nature of the offence my application is for a pre-sentence report.”
The court heard Ntounis has one previous conviction from Harrow Crown Court for dishonestly making a false representation, for which he received twelve months imprisonment, suspended for two years on October 13, 2014.
During the trial the girl told the jury: “He was saying that I was hot and I had nice lips. I thought he was being nice, but then I thought it was a bit odd.
“As he got close to my house he started driving slowly because he said he wanted to spend more time with me, which I thought was odd.”
Prosecutor Mr. Allister Walker said: “At the time of the offence the defendant was a mini-cab driver working for Uber who collected the complainant from her friend’s address at 9.30pm.
“During the short journey he made inappropriate comments and obtained her phone number and over the next few days he sent her messages, asking her to meet him.
“The prosecution say this was for some kind of sexual activity.”
GPS tracking proves Ntounis slowed his car to a crawl of 5mph as the journey concluded and he admitted to police this was to extend his time with the teen.
“She had drunk some rum and coke with her fiends and says on a scale of drunkenness she was ‘five or six’ out of ten.”
Her 15 year-old boyfriend had seen her off on the cab ride from Barnes to Kingston-upon-Thames and her middle-class parents confiscated her phone because she exceeded her curfew.
“The driver, this defendant, asked her how old she was and how old her boyfriend was and she told him she was fourteen.
“He put the internal light on and looked at her via the rear-view mirror and told her she was ‘hot’ and had ‘nice lips’ and gave her chewing gum.”
This was to mask the smell of alcohol on her breath from her anxious parents.
“He told her to text him her name and during the journey the complainant sent a message to her friend, indicating her discomfort.”
Balding Ntounis knocked nearly a decade off his age, claiming to be only twenty-six, the jury heard and over the next few days sent WhatsApp message to her.
“He said: ‘I can give you lessons in whatever you want’ and: ‘When are you out next time.’
“He asked: ‘Do I pass the age test?’ and: ‘I would love it.’
“The complainant blocked him on WhatsApp and told her mother, but the defendant then began sending ordinary phone texts.
“He wrote: ‘We can be friends and I can help you if you want with a taxi. I can give you a free ride sometime.”
Ntounis handed himself into Islington Police Station a month later and told officers he recalled little of the journey.
“He now admits the texts, saying there were innocent motives and he wanted to support her,” added Mr. Walker.
“However, the prosecution say he took advantage of his position with her and the motive was to have sexual contact.
“His intention was to meet her later for sex.”
The girl added: “The next day I had a text from him and he started asking to meet up with me and I got a bit concerned so I blocked him.
“He was sending me quite a few texts, one after the other and he told me he was twenty-six and I told him I was a bit young.”
The court made a temporary Sexual Offenders Prevention Order, which bans Ntounis from having a female passenger in his car, aged under eighteen years-old, without permission from her parent or guardian.
He must also notify his Public Protection Unit officer of any passenger of that age and identify any vehicle he drives to that officer.
Ntounis must not contact any person under eighteen via the internet or via any other mobile device.
Transport For London have removed his licence, but Ntounis is still potentially free to work as a mini-cab driver outside the capital.
“If he disappears he will be sentenced in his absence,” announced the judge, ordering Ntounis to reside at his home address; obey a nighttime curfew; not contact the complainant or apply for travel documents.
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