Australian driver jailed for sex attacks on the disabled

A taxi driver in Australia's Perth city has been jailed for 10 years for sexually assaulting five wheelchair-bound women in his vehicle.

Peter Edward Kasatchkow, 58, was sentenced in the Perth District Court Friday over 33 offences including indecently dealing with an incapable person and sexual penetration without consent, Australia's WA today reported.

The incidents happened on separate occasions with different women, aged between 18 and 52, as they travelled by his taxi between January and February this year.

Some of the victims had cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis, with some unable to communicate and requiring constant care.

In one of the incidents, Kasatchkow kissed a 29-year-old victim's breasts and mouth, and sexually penetrated her despite the woman repeatedly pleading to stop. The court heard she had been a virgin before the attack.

She immediately complained about the assault. But Kasatchkow initially claimed they had consensual sex and that she had initiated it.

Sentencing judge Kevin Sleight said the women were "sexually exploited" by Kasatchkow and could not physically resist.

Judge Sleight said it was "an appalling breach of trust on the most vulnerable" with long term consequences for the victims. "You have taken away their innocence."

Kasatchkow will have to serve eight years behind bars before being eligible for parole.