A BUS driver has been found guilty of raping a passenger he claimed was his girlfriend.
Kalash Vijay, of Evergreen Way, Hayes, was found guilty of two charges of rape last Thursday, following a four-day trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
The jury heard that the victim, a 24-year-old woman, had been out with friends in Acton on February 7, and boarded the N207 bus, being driven by Vijay, at about 3am.
CCTV images show Vijay going upstairs and bringing the young woman, who had been drinking and had fallen asleep on the top deck, downstairs.
He then turned off the lights and showed the bus as being out of service.
Vijay, 42, then stopped the bus in Dawley Road, Hayes, and dropped the victim off on the street before parking the bus at Hayes Bus Station, returning in his car and picking her up.
He then took the woman back to his house and raped her, dropping her back at a station the following morning.
The victim contacted police two days later to report that she had been raped.
Detective Constable Anna Hukowski, of the Metropolitan Police's specialist Sapphire Unit, said: "Vijay told the court a string of lines, claiming the victim was his girlfriend.
"I am grateful the jury saw through those lies.
"Vijay took advantage of a young woman in a vulnerable condition. She has shown incredible strength of character in reporting this incident and we have used our expertise to ensure that Vijay was identified and brought to justice."
He is due back at Isleworth on January 25 for sentencing.
