Not seen this covered here yet (apols if so):
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Daily Mail article
London Tube driver invited female passenger into his cab and sexually assaulted her while stinking of cannabis and suggesting they 'Netflix and chill' on the Jubilee line, court hears
By TOM PYMAN FOR MAILONLINE
- Nathaniel Cummings-Stewart denies sexual assault after he was reported to BTP
- He is also accused of suggesting he return to her hotel to 'Netflix and chill'
- She thought the defendant could be 'trusted' as he was wearing a TfL uniform
PUBLISHED: 13:00, 18 June 2022 | UPDATED: 13:02, 18 June 2022
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A Tube driver invited a female passenger into his cab and sexually assaulted her while stinking of cannabis, a court has heard.
Nathaniel Cummings-Stewart allegedly told the woman to join him by the driver's seat before touching her thigh and making sexual comments.
The 46-year-old from Brent, north London, is accused of turning the lights off within the driver cab, of suggesting he return to her hotel to 'Netflix and chill' and of smelling like he'd recently been smoking cannabis.
Cummings-Stewart has denied a single count of sexual assault after he was reported to the British Transport Police.
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Nathaniel Cummings-Stewart allegedly told the woman to join him by the driver's seat before touching her thigh and making sexual comments
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court heard the woman had travelled to London with her friend for a long weekend, and had been staying at a hotel near Waterloo.
On August 21, 2020, she travelled to Wembley Boxpark to meet with friends and decided to return to Central London later that evening.
In order to avoid missing the last train, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was walked by her friend to the nearest station to board the Jubilee line shortly after midnight.
After arriving, she was approached by Cummings-Stewart who, the court heard, had asked 'Which stop are you going to?', and invited her into the driver's cab.
She told the court that being unfamiliar with London, she thought he was someone 'to be trusted' as he was in a TfL uniform.
She claimed that he smelled of cannabis, telling the jurors: 'It was strong, it must have been recent [that he'd been smoking].'
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She said she sat next to him as he worked the controls of the train. During the course of the journey to Waterloo, he asked her questions about her visit to London, the location of her hotel and asked her to remove her Covid-19 mask, she claims.
The woman claims that he 'turned the lights off, closed the blinds and locked the door' and began to suggest that he would come to her hotel after his shift ended in two hours.
He also told her he wanted to shower and 'Netflix and chill' with her, before taking her phone and insisting that she accept his number, the court was told.
The woman told jurors that she had felt 'uncomfortable' and had refused to give her own number and told him she was 19, before texting her friend which failed to send due to signal problems.
Whilst they were travelling between Tube stations, she said he reached over to give her a high five, before beginning to touch her upper thigh.
After arriving at Waterloo station, the woman said she insisted that it was her stop and she left through a side door.
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The 46-year-old from Brent, north London, is accused of turning the lights off within the driver cab, of suggesting he return to her hotel to 'Netflix and chill' and of smelling like he'd recently been smoking cannabis
Speaking of her reaction to the incident, she said: 'My heart was beating really, really quickly; as soon as I got out of the platform I was jogging, my heart was pounding.'
She said she confided in her mum a few days later and reported him to Transport for London Customer Services.
Jurors heard the recorded call, where she described his behaviour as 'inappropriate' and said: 'I got really scared, I didn't know what was going to happen and I really did fear for what was going to happen.'
Taking the witness stand, her mum tearfully said: 'She was sat at the table, I was cooking, I believe, and I knew something was wrong, she's my daughter.
'I could see she wanted to tell me something. The way she looked, the way she was looking at me, her whole posture. She brought it up. She said she had something to tell me.
'My gut feeling was something had happened with a man and she's going to tell me something that I don't want to hear. She then tried to explain what happened.
'From what I can remember she said something had happened on the Tube and she said a man touched her. The first thing I asked her was 'were you raped' because that's my first fear, and she broke down and cried..'
She continued: 'She then said he said to her where is she staying, she said where she was staying and what she was doing in London, he then suggested that he could come back to the hotel with her to have sex and he would shower off and no one would know.
'She then said she was so scared she told him he was younger than her age, hoping that would scare him off and he would leave her alone. He took her phone and put his number in her phone and told her to call him.'
Cummings-Stewart has denied the allegation and claimed that he first approached the woman because she looked like his sister, and invited her into the cockpit because she appeared 'distressed'.
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In order to avoid missing the last train, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was walked by her friend to the nearest station to board the Jubilee line shortly after midnight. After arriving, she was approached by Cummings-Stewart who, the court heard, had asked 'Which stop are you going to?', and invited her into the driver's cab
He claimed that she told him she was being followed, which the woman told jurors 'was not true at all'.
Under Transport for London guidance, drivers are not permitted to allow passengers into the cockpit before contacting controls or a manager.
During his police interview, Cummings-Stewart said he 'overlooked' that guidance but had wanted to ensure her protection.
He also denied smoking cannabis or consuming any alcohol or drugs whilst driving the train.
The trial continues.
