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Repeat Rapist May Be Taxi Driver

POSTED: 4:14 pm PDT July 21, 2004
UPDATED: 4:58 pm PDT July 23, 2004

An exclusive KIRO Team 7 Investigation has uncovered evidence of a serial rapist using his taxi cab to lure victims.

At least three women claim to have been assaulted so far, and police still don't have a solid suspect.

In all cases, victims say they drank too much alcohol, then hailed a Yellow Taxi cab late at night. Police detectives say the driver then took full advantage of the situation, raping at least two women and groping another.

Belltown, 11 p.m.: Female patrons fill the barstools at their favorite hangouts. By 2 a.m., the smart ones -- who have had too much liquor to drink -- get a cab home. That's always been safer than walking the dark streets or driving.

For at least three area women, that turned out to be an unsafe assumption.

According to a search warrant, Seattle police are looking for a repeat rapist who drives a Yellow Cab. In one case, the cabbie drove an extremely intoxicated rider to Kerry Park and raped her. In another, police actually called a cab for a woman released from their custody following a drunk driving arrest. She, too, was raped.

Brian Armstrong works at the J&M Cafe downtown. He says staff there call cabs for female patrons 20 to 30 times a night.

"That is really serious stuff. If we're putting our trust in the hands of a company that we call on a daily basis to get home, that's horrible," Armstrong said.

Until this week, police thought they had a good suspect: a Yellow Cab driver who fit the description of both rapists and a third, similar case of molestation.

KIRO Team 7 Investigators have learned DNA tests didn't match all cases. So bottom line is:. the cabbie rapist is still on the loose.

"This is a very violent crime. It is our highest priority to investigate. I'd like to say our department is working very diligently at solving this," said Sean Whitcomb of the Seattle Police Department.

Bartender Gaye Anderson says this rape case should make all customers think before drinking too much and getting into a cab alone.

"It's shocking, unfair, not right. How somebody can take advantage of any sort of women," she said.

We've learned Seattle detectives have gone so far as to track some Yellow Cabs by global positioning satellite, trying to nail down a suspect. They have not ruled out the possibility that two cabbies may be involved.

Frank Dogwilla, the local manager of Yellow Cab, won't talk on camera. But he told us on the phone "we are cooperating one hundred percent with the police investigation. We take this kind of thing very seriously."

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