A Dunedin taxi driver who was acquitted on sex charges has an ''open door'' back to his previous job if he wants it.
Salimbhai Wadhwania (36) faced seven charges of indecent assault after a passenger told police he had taken her to a secluded lookout in the early hours of February 19 last year and groped her persistently.
On Monday evening, after five hours deliberation, the jury returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all charges.
Mr Wadhwania, who was driving for Dunedin Taxis at the time, had the passenger endorsement on his licence suspended from June 21 last year by the NZ Transport Agency.
It confirmed yesterday the suspension would be lifted following the defendant's acquittal.
But Dunedin Taxis manager Simone Green said Mr Wadhwania had not yet made a decision about returning to work.
There was an ''open door'' if he opted to resume his role, she told the Otago Daily Times.
Ms Green said the company had stood by the driver throughout the legal process and would continue to support him.
At trial, driver and director Rhonda Ross gave evidence on Mr Wadhwania's behalf, describing him in glowing terms. She said his honesty was ''beyond reproach''.
The young complainant told the court on the first day of the trial she was walking to her boyfriend's house after drinking in town when she saw Mr Wadhwania at a petrol station.
She recognised him from her work and said the driver offered her a free lift to Andersons Bay
However, at 2.21am - according to the van's GPS - they pulled up at John Wilson Ocean Dr.
The woman made wide-ranging allegations against the defendant, claiming he initially tried to kiss her, then inappropriately touched her back, her breast and upper thigh.
She said she rebuffed his advances until he eventually took her to her destination.
But Mr Wadhwania said they had only gone to the seafront area for him to take his break, because he was not supposed to give her a free journey. It would look less suspicious that way, he told the court.
He said they had simply chatted while in the van and the complainant had thanked him when he dropped her off.
Mr Wadhwania bemoaned the fact that there was no CCTV footage from inside the cab. It had been wiped a month after the incident.
The woman approached police 32 days after the night in question, a factor defence counsel Len Andersen said was significant.
''The reason you made the complaint 32 days after the incident was that you knew cameras were normally kept for 30 days ... You didn't want to be caught out,'' he said.
Aside from that, Mr Andersen said the layout of the van was such that it was physically impossible for Mr Wadhwania to lean over to the passenger side from the driver's seat and commit the alleged acts.
Mr Andersen suggested the complainant had concocted the allegations because she was angry with her boyfriend who had ignored her communications that night.
Mr Wadhwania cried as the not guilty verdicts came in.
