A judge told an unlicensed minicab driver who raped a passenger and assaulted another he had abused their trust, and had "absolutely no idea how to behave with women".

Sam Rahmouni, of Danes Road, Bicester, was convicted at Oxford Crown Court, and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Police caught him when a witness contacted detectives after seeing an appeal in the Oxford Mail. The father-of-one used his silver BMW to earn "pocket money" on top of his income from a job in a warehouse.

Sam Rahmouni The jury found him guilty of raping a 27-year-old bar manager in 2002 and sexually touching a 19-year-old Oxford University student in December last year.

Both women had been out drinking when they accepted a lift from Rahmouni in the early hours of the morning.

The student paid him a £4 fare after the assault, and his first victim said he dropped her off at home with the words: "Don't worry, I won't charge you."

The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, but found him guilty by a majority of 10 to two.

Sentencing 37-year-old Rahmouni, Judge Julian Hall said: "In the first case, the woman had had much too much to drink and it was clear that she didn't want to have sex, but you didn't care.

"Last December, you tried the same thing on with a much more intelligent and stronger-willed young woman, but she saw you off.

"One of the aggravating features of this case was that these women put their trust in you."

Rahmouni, who has a 17-month-old daughter, worked as a quality controller at the Co-op warehouse in Ferry Hinksey Road, Oxford.

During the trial, he said he would often pick up passengers, which is illegal, and charge up to £5. He said he couldn't see any harm in it. His car had a plasma-screen satellite navigation system, which the prosecution argued gave it the appearance of a minicab.

Rahmouni moved to Britain from his native Morocco, where he was a student and semi-professional football player, in 1999.

Both victims gave evidence during the three-day trial, as did Rahmouni's British ex-wife and ex-girlfriend, who spoke of him treating them with respect. Judge Hall said the appearance of two former partners was unique in his experience.

Rahmouni drove his first victim to a deserted car park, where he raped her before driving her home. Police could not trace him, but a DNA sample was kept on file.

When Rahmouni was arrested two years later for assaulting his second victim, a DNA sample was taken from him and matched that on the database.

After picking up the student at a city centre kebab van, he told her "I really like your legs" and "you could be a model" before touching her repeatedly.

Police tracked him down after a chef, who had been a passenger in Rahmouni's car earlier that evening, read an appeal in the Oxford Mail and recognised the description of his left-hand-drive BMW.

He was sentenced to seven years for rape, and one for assault, to run consecutively.