NEW YORK CITY, NY - An Algerian immigrant cab driver without a partition or camera in his vehicle allegedly assaulted two women in the back of his yellow taxi on two separate occasions and is still on the road due to being released by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Court documents and sources close to the situation said that 34-year-old Mohammed Bellebia was allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges in at least one of the incidents, the New York Post reported.
One victim, 23-year-old Maile Bartow, entered Bellebia's cab minivan around 2:00 a.m. on November 10, 2024, to head home after a night on the town with friends, when he allegedly touched her leg twice and ignored her pleas to stop before groping her genitals, a lawsuit states.
Bartow, who had always dreamed of living in NYC and moved to the city in August after a stint in Nashville, left New York City for good because of the incident with Bellebia.
About a month later, on December 12, 2024, Bellebia picked up a 2:00 a.m. fare, allegedly touching that woman's leg throughout the ride and trying to remove the 33-year-old victim's underwear, according to a law enforcement source. Bellebia was arrested on December 19, 2024, and charged in both cases.
When she learned of the other victim, Bartow gasped, "Oh my God." In Bartow's case, Bellebia was facing misdemeanor charges of forcible touching and sexual abuse, and could have faced a sentence from probation to a year in jail.
Instead, he pleaded guilty in March 2025 to disorderly conduct, a mere violation, and was set free on a conditional discharge. So long as he stayed out of trouble, he would avoid jail time. Bartow said Bragg's office left her in the dark about the soft-on-crime decision.
The prosecutor "never told me that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge," Bartow said. "The only reason I was even informed was because I reached out three times. Two of those were not returned."
"He's back on the road driving the same taxi cab," a disgusted Bartow said. "I wasn't looped in at all. They didn't ask me what I was OK with." The charges in Bartow's case were not bail-eligible, a Manhattan DA spokeswoman said, adding that Bellebia had no prior convictions.
"Survivors deserve clear communication through the course of a prosecution, and we have reached out to the survivor to apologize for falling short of that in this case," the spokeswoman added.
Bellebia's taxi driver's license was suspended, and he was off the road from December 2024 until March, when it was reinstated, according to a source. "The ordeal suffered by Ms. Bartow is every woman's nightmare," said Bartow's lawyer, John Buza. "We are proud of her bravery in speaking up, and we will do everything within our power to get justice for her."
Bartow moved to Nashville about six weeks after the incident, but said she called the DA's office repeatedly for updates. Bartow, who said she's been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers from flashbacks and night terrors, is seeking unspecified damages under the state's Gender Motivated Violence Act.
Court documents and sources close to the situation said that 34-year-old Mohammed Bellebia was allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges in at least one of the incidents, the New York Post reported.
One victim, 23-year-old Maile Bartow, entered Bellebia's cab minivan around 2:00 a.m. on November 10, 2024, to head home after a night on the town with friends, when he allegedly touched her leg twice and ignored her pleas to stop before groping her genitals, a lawsuit states.
Bartow, who had always dreamed of living in NYC and moved to the city in August after a stint in Nashville, left New York City for good because of the incident with Bellebia.
About a month later, on December 12, 2024, Bellebia picked up a 2:00 a.m. fare, allegedly touching that woman's leg throughout the ride and trying to remove the 33-year-old victim's underwear, according to a law enforcement source. Bellebia was arrested on December 19, 2024, and charged in both cases.
When she learned of the other victim, Bartow gasped, "Oh my God." In Bartow's case, Bellebia was facing misdemeanor charges of forcible touching and sexual abuse, and could have faced a sentence from probation to a year in jail.
Instead, he pleaded guilty in March 2025 to disorderly conduct, a mere violation, and was set free on a conditional discharge. So long as he stayed out of trouble, he would avoid jail time. Bartow said Bragg's office left her in the dark about the soft-on-crime decision.
The prosecutor "never told me that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge," Bartow said. "The only reason I was even informed was because I reached out three times. Two of those were not returned."
"He's back on the road driving the same taxi cab," a disgusted Bartow said. "I wasn't looped in at all. They didn't ask me what I was OK with." The charges in Bartow's case were not bail-eligible, a Manhattan DA spokeswoman said, adding that Bellebia had no prior convictions.
"Survivors deserve clear communication through the course of a prosecution, and we have reached out to the survivor to apologize for falling short of that in this case," the spokeswoman added.
Bellebia's taxi driver's license was suspended, and he was off the road from December 2024 until March, when it was reinstated, according to a source. "The ordeal suffered by Ms. Bartow is every woman's nightmare," said Bartow's lawyer, John Buza. "We are proud of her bravery in speaking up, and we will do everything within our power to get justice for her."
Bartow moved to Nashville about six weeks after the incident, but said she called the DA's office repeatedly for updates. Bartow, who said she's been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers from flashbacks and night terrors, is seeking unspecified damages under the state's Gender Motivated Violence Act.
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Comments
2025-11-17T19:56-0500 | Comment by: James
All smart people will leave this cesspool city as soon as they can!!!