Sexual assault allegation involving Halifax taxi driver under investigation

Halifax police are investigating a new allegation of a taxi driver sexually attacking a female passenger.

The woman suffered facial injuries in the attack at around 10 p.m. Wednesday while she was being driven to a Dartmouth home, police said Friday.

A police spokeswoman said no arrest has been made, and investigators currently have limited details about the incident, which was reported to police on Thursday.

“We have spoken to her ... the investigation is in the very early stages,” said Const. Dianne Penfound.

“We would normally wait until we have more information to put out a release but felt at this point it was an appropriate time to put this out to the public.”

Penfound said sexual assault investigations are complex, and police work closely with victims to ensure they’re willing to proceed with a police investigation.

“At this point the inves- tigators are reaching out to multiple cab companies to determine who this driver may have been,” she said.

“What I can say from a police perspective is that the cab companies are always fully co-operative with us, and very helpful.”

The probe comes after a series of sex charges against Halifax cabbies, although Penfound said there had been no new allegations since the summer of 2016.

Police reported seven alleged sexual assault cases involving Halifax cab drivers between 2015 and the summer of 2016, although one charge had been dropped at the request of the complainant.

In July 2016, Dave Buffett, president of the Halifax Taxi Drivers Owners Association, said the city’s taxi industry was in crisis after four alleged sexual assaults by drivers in three months.

The acquittal last March of a Halifax taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated female passenger sparked national outrage.