DA Alvin Bragg Releases Migrant Taxi Driver Charged for Repeatedly Assaulting Female Passengers
An Algerian national allegedly assaulted two women in the back of his New York taxi in separate incidents, but he continues to win tickets after securing a friendly settlement with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the New York Post reported Saturday.
Records show that Mohammed Bellebia, 34, was allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges in at least one of the incidents, according to the newspaper.
According to the tabloid’s detailed information, the taxi driver’s first alleged victim was Maile Bartow, 23, who entered Bellebia’s yellow taxi minibus around 2am in November last year after a night on the town with friends.
What should have been an uneventful ten-minute drive to her home in the Lower East turned into a nightmarish journey through the dark streets of the Big Apple.
Bellebia, who spoke little English, began touching his leg, according to the Messages account.
The taxi driver not only ignored her pleas to stop, but then groped her genitals, according to a complaint filed by the woman against the driver and the taxi company – ironically named “Tranquil Taxi.”
During the alleged assault, Bartow took a photo of the taxi driver’s actions, but he snatched it from his hand and deleted his photos, according to his account. She then began recording her requests to stop in a voice message.
“I started begging him, ‘Let me out!’” Bartow recalled. “I didn’t want to make him any more crazy than he was. I was so afraid he was going to kidnap me or kill me.”
The taxi driver finally stopped, she said. She had to call a transportation service to get to her house. The California native worked in New York as a social media marketer.
She filed a report with the New York Police Department the next morning.
A month later, in December, Bellebia allegedly took another ticket at 2 a.m., touched the woman’s leg along the way and tried to remove the 33-year-old victim’s underwear, a police source told the Job.
There would have been no partition or camera system in his vehicle.
The taxi driver was arrested on December 19, 2024 and charged in both cases, according to the Job. Bellebia was charged with misdemeanor counts of forcible touching and sexual abuse in Bartow’s case. A conviction could have resulted in a sentence ranging from probation to a year in prison.
Instead, Bellebia pleaded guilty in March to disorderly conduct and received a “parole,” the Post reported, avoiding prison as long as he stayed out of legal trouble.
The second charge is under seal, the Job reported, with no further information available.
Bartow, who has since left town, told the Job she had no idea there had been a second assault allegation and had been largely kept in the dark by the prosecutor’s office.
“Oh my God,” she said to the Post when she learned of the second wife.
It wasn’t until she harassed the prosecutor’s office with phone calls that she learned of the taxi driver’s plea deal. Bellebia, meanwhile, had his license suspended after the incident, but was reportedly reinstated in March.
“He’s back on the road, driving the exact same cab,” Bartow told the Job. “I wasn’t aware at all. They didn’t ask me what I agreed with.”
The newspaper contacted the taxi driver, who said he was unaware of the lawsuit filed against him and the taxi company, and that, according to the newspaper, he could not be reached for comment.
During the attempted interview, the Arabic-speaking driver called a friend to translate, who declined further comment. On a second attempt to comment, the taxi driver hung up when a reporter asked if he was in the United States illegally.
The charges in Bartow’s case were not eligible for bail, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA said. Jobalso claiming the driver had no previous convictions.
“Survivors deserve clear communication throughout the prosecution, and we have reached out to the survivor to apologize for our failure to do so in this case,” the spokesperson added.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times bestseller House of secrets and nine other mystery novels and non-fiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com to find out more.
