Not guilty: Taxi driver cleared of sex with a child hits out at 'police incompetence'
A man cleared of having sex with a child has hit out at 'pure police incompetence' after he said the investigation disrupted his life for nearly two years.
Nawaz Ahmed was accused by a 14-year-old girl of having sex with her three times between August and October 2014 but was cleared by a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court this week.
Mr Ahmed, a former taxi driver for Walsall based A1 City Cars, was first arrested by police in December 2014 over the allegations – which included a charge of taking an indecent image of a child – and had to report to officers three times a week.
The delivery driver, of Hucker Road, Walsall, was unable to travel to Pakistan to visit his wife and two children after his arrest as part of bail conditions. But he said he would be on the first flight out of the country to see them following his acquittal on Thursday.
He burst into tears and thanked the jury after he was cleared.
He told the Express & Star: "It has obviously been a very difficult time for me and my family – and has been unduly delayed because of pure police incompetence.
"That caused such long delay and I was on bail with requirements to remain in the UK, unable to see my wife and children."
The girl, who is now 16 and has special needs, told the court she was unable to remember how many times she had sex with Mr Ahmed, who she first met when he picked her and her family up in his taxi.
He had always denied any sexual contact with the girl.
The prosecution presented two police videos from 2014 in which the teenager described having sex with the Ahmed and him taking a photo of her performing a sex act on him.
Mr Ahmed said: "It is not just unfair on me, it is the other person too. This is a vulnerable young girl.
"We have thoughts for her, she clearly needs assistance. This court process has clearly not helped her in any form.
"It is only the police and the CPS to blame."
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "This complex case was investigated in a diligent and professional manner, resulting in extensive evidence being presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
"The CPS then decided that evidence was strong enough to bring about a prosecution. Our criminal justice system quite rightly demands a very high standard of proof and we acknowledge the verdict from the jury
"Our priority is and will always be to pursue the right and proper course of action in the interests of public safety and justice."
