A taxi driver was sentenced yesterday for raping a female passenger in Finchley.

Edward Chapman, 45, of Romford, was sentenced to seven years in jail at Wood Green Crown Court.

He will remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

On August 12, 2011, the victim, who was in her 30s, was out with friends and hailed a black taxi in the early hours of the morning.

She asked the driver to take her to her Finchley home, but when they arrived, Chapman raped her in his cab.

The victim informed a friend that she had been assaulted and then told her family what had happened.

Police searched CCTV footage and were able to identify the cab that had picked her up.

Consequently, Chapman was arrested on August 15, 2011. He was later charged with rape.

DS Steve Grainger, of the Barnet Sapphire unit, which investigates serious sexual crime, said: “Firstly I would like to thank the victim and her family for their courage and support during the investigation.

“Chapman was a licensed taxi driver who abused his position to take ruthless advantage of this woman. It is only by the bravery of victims that people like Chapman can be stopped.”

In sentencing yesterday, His Honour Judge Browne QC, told Chapman: “Black cab drivers have rightly earned a very high reputation as the most reliable drivers round the streets of London and the suburbs.

“By your conviction today, you have damaged the reputation of back cab drivers generally. There are several obvious aggravating features of your quite disgraceful conduct.

"This rape involves a gross breach of trust by a professional driver to his passenger, taking advantage of a vulnerable passenger, the passenger being a total stranger to you.

“The victim of this rape is still affected by her ordeal at your hands. But what emerged about her character was her calmness, her quiet dignity and her quest for justice, which has been achieved."