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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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Police are
investigating another sex attack by a taxi driver after a young Wellington
woman said she was raped in the back seat by a man who then demanded she pay
the $30 fare. The woman, 22, said the
driver stopped near her Johnsonville home and forced himself on her in broad
daylight in a quiet suburban street that is home to several young families. Detective Sergeant Mark
Lewis said the alleged attack took place in Arthur Carman St about 8.30am on
Saturday morning. The woman had been nightclubbing with friends and had got
into the taxi in Courtenay Place. The rape complaint was
the latest in several alleged sexual attacks involving Wellington taxi
drivers in the last year and the trend was extremely worrying, Mr Lewis said.
"This seems to be
happening more than it should be. It's cause for alarm. "People have a few
drinks, get into a taxi to go home and this is what's happening to
them." Taxi Federation
executive director Tim Reddish said he was "distraught" at the
latest allegation. Mr Lewis said the woman
had been drinking but he did not believe she was drunk. The driver had got
into the back seat of the taxi and raped her. She said the driver
then demanded $30 for the taxi fare, which she paid. She then walked the
short distance to her home. The woman's flatmates
alerted police about an hour later. Police spoke to the
woman on Saturday morning before she underwent a medical examination. She
gave a formal statement yesterday. Mr Lewis said she was
uninjured but extremely upset and had been offered counselling. "It's a sexual
violation. I wouldn't say it was physically violent but it's certainly at the
top end of the scale of what you can do to someone." Police were unsure
which taxi company was involved and as yet had no description of the driver. Officers had spoken to
the occupants of about a dozen homes in the street but no one had seen or heard
the alleged attack. Police would speak to taxi companies this week. Mr Lewis appealed for
anyone who saw a white taxi parked in Arthur Carman St on Saturday morning to
contact Wellington CIB. "People are up
with their kids at that time of the morning. There's a lot of families around
there." Street resident
Philippa Wilkinson said she left home about 8am on Saturday to buy groceries,
returning about 8.50am. She did not recall seeing a taxi in the street and
said the allegations were frightening. "It just seems
like a bizarre time of the morning for that sort of thing to happen. It's
very bold of the person if they did do that. "It wouldn't be
the logical place I would have thought that someone would take a woman to
assault her." Mr Reddish said taxi
passengers had a right to feel safe. "It's an
undesirable trend and something has to be done about it. "For the industry
and the many good drivers out there that provide an excellent service, it's
doing no good for their reputation." Mr Reddish said an
auditor-general's report into taxi industry controls had made recommendations
that were due to be implemented. Regency Cabs' Jane
Coleman said she was devastated. "I just thought,
'Not another one'. It's sad for the whole industry because there are so many
good people and so many dedicated people in it." Wellington Taxis'
Arthur Atrill said it was disgraceful, but should not be seen as an
indictment on all taxi drivers. "Rapists can be in
any shape or form . . . whether they wear ties, drive taxis, whatever." |
