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Former President of the Abbotsford Hindu Temple found guilty of sexual assault

Darpan News Desk Darpan, 22 Jun, 2021 02:36 PM

A former president of the Abbotsford Hindu Temple, who also used to drive a North Shore Taxi has been convicted of sexual assault. He assaulted a passenger inside his cab in West Vancouver over 2 years ago.

62 year old Abbotsford resident, Deepak Sharma, was found guilty on June 18th, 2021 in North Vancouver provincial court. His sentencing hearing date has been set for June 29.

A woman and her friend had been in Sharma’s cab just before 1 a.m on Jan 2, 2019. They made a quick stop to pick up some beer from another friend’s house.

The victim was alone in the taxi with Sharma while her friend went inside the house.

According to West Vancouver police, Sharma grabbed his customer in the crotch. He then took the victim's hand and forced it on his own crotch, which had been exposed through an open zipper.

The victim reported the incident to police.

Police said at the time that Sharma handed in his West Vancouver taxi permit after getting a letter to surrender it.

When the Fraser Valley Hindu Cultural Society board found out that he had been charged, they called an urgent meeting and at that time Sharma handed in his resignation.

Photo courtesy of Facebook (Abbotsford Hindu Temple)

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