Hasan Kafi, a local cab driver, pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor sexual battery last week but will face no jail time.
Kafi was arrested in April 2005 on allegations that he assaulted a female Duke student.
A charge of felonious kidnapping was dismissed because the victim refused to cooperate with the prosecution, said Assistant District Attorney Tracey Cline, who prosecuted the case.
"In a criminal case, you have to have the witness there to present evidence in front of the jury," Cline said. "I could have dismissed all of the charges, but I felt like that wasn't what we needed to do. There had to be some record of what he had done."
Kafi was sentenced to a 60-day suspended jail sentence and 18 months of probation, the Herald-Sun reported May 23.
Cline said she has been prosecuting cases of sexual violence for 14 years, and in her experience it is not uncommon for victims to refuse to come forward.
"Sometimes people feel better in not coming forth to give that information, to have a public display in front of strangers," Cline said. "Any type of sexual offense case where a woman or man has to come forward and speak about a personal thing-that type of violation... is very difficult."
Kafi was arrested April 18, 2005 on the two charges after the Durham Police Department received an anonymous tip.
His attorney, James Williams, could not be reached for comment.
The Chronicle learned the charges originated with a Duke student who initially made a complaint through the Duke University Police Department. The Chronicle does not identify victims of sexual assault.
The incident happened after midnight April 2, 2005. The student had been at a party at George's Garage and had called Kafi to take her home.
She entered the front seat of Kafi's cab when he arrived at the restaurant. "That was my first mistake," she told The Chronicle last April.
The student said she asked to be taken back to her dormitory, but Kafi drove her to a gas station instead, where she bought a drink. The gas station, the student said, was well past West Campus-a fact she failed to notice because of her intoxication.
"My reaction time was slow," she said. "If I had been sober, things would have clicked a lot sooner. I wasn't aware.. I'm sure he knew that."
When she returned to the cab, she said Kafi offered her marijuana. She said he also asked her, "Why aren't we hanging out? How come we never hang out?" to which she responded, "We are hanging out, until you take me back to West Campus."
At that point, she started sending text messages to her ex-boyfriend. The first message read, "Please, I need u," and was followed by a message 11 minutes later saying, "omg, ok help I can't get back." She said the messages continued throughout the ride and she thought Kafi may have asked whom she was text messaging.
Kafi then allegedly began to massage her neck and back as he continued to drive. She said she slid over as far as possible toward the door.
After repeatedly ignoring her wishes to return to West Campus, Kafi parked in a hotel parking lot, the student said.
Kafi allegedly turned the cab around and took the student back to Duke after she vomited multiple times.
The student told The Chronicle she had ridden with Kafi on at least five different occasions and said he had offered her and her friends marijuana and alcohol on previous rides. The students were rarely, if ever, charged cab fare, she added.
Prior to the incident, Duke students had held Kafi in high regard. In January 2005, The Chronicle printed an article that described his popularity among students-especially female undergraduates who needed late-night transportation.
"I only call Kafi," then-junior Jenny Key said in January 2005. "We have the nicest conversations, and he always remembers my name. Probably because I'm saved as 'Jenny' in his phone."
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