Murmurings of a sexual assault by a popular local taxi driver have been circulating through the University’s Greek community, after an e-mail was sent to members of numerous sororities this week.
The e-mail, which originated from LSA sophomore Brianna Porter, a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, alleges that the driver picked up a woman by the name of Emily, the guest of a Delta Delta Delta sorority member on March 8. According to the e-mail, Emily was lost in the crowd outside Scorekeepers Bar and Grill at 310 Maynard Street, but recognized the driver from earlier in the night and decided to take his cab before he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The Ann Arbor Police Department is investigating the incident, which was reported at AAPD headquarters last Friday afternoon. AAPD has also made contact with the suspect.
The e-mail alleges that the driver attempted to drop Emily off at the Tri-Delt sorority house at 718 Tappan Avenue, but she was unable to enter the house because no one answered the door. Instead, he offered to let her stay in the cab while he picked up other customers. According to the e-mail, the driver dropped off one customer and then proceeded to drive Emily into a wooded area where he sexually assaulted her in his vehicle.
Emily was able to open the door of the vehicle and run from the area, and was later picked up on South University Avenue and brought back to the Tri-Delt house before reporting the incident to police the next morning, according to the e-mail.
In the e-mail, Porter urged sorority members to avoid taking his services until the incident was investigated.
“Please, please, please stop taking (the driver’s) cab,” Porter wrote.
Porter did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
AAPD spokeswoman Lieutenant Renee Bush was unable to confirm whether the house in the report was in fact the Tri-Delt house since the victim was “not familiar with the area.”
According to Bush, the driver initially told the victim at the time of her taxi request at Scorekeepers that he had to pick up other customers, after which he would drop her off. This does not correspond with statements in the e-mail, which suggest that the driver took the victim straight to the Tri-Delt house. After the driver allegedly sexually assaulted the victim, Bush said the victim alerted a female passerby who drove her to her friend’s house. The e-mail, however, suggests that the victim was picked up by a known acquaintance.
Bush also noted that the suspect is a state-licensed limo driver, not a city-licensed taxi driver, adding that the incident is currently being classified as a “possible misdemeanor sexual assault.”
In an interview on Wednesday, the driver, whose name is being withheld since he has not yet been charged, denied the e-mail’s allegations, and said he would be willing to submit to a polygraph test to prove his innocence.
“I haven’t done anything,” the driver said.
The driver said he is a married man with two “grown daughters,” and said he was not contacted by the Ann Arbor Police Department until yesterday.
In addition to denying his involvement in the incident, he also said he would have never allowed Emily to ride in his car while he served other customers.
“I did not pick anybody up and take anybody anywhere in any wooded area,” The driver claimed. “I was very busy (last) Thursday, and it’s not my way of doing things — if the girl wasn’t able to get in she would have to go somewhere, because I’m not going to let her ride around with me all night.”
The driver said he talked to Ann Arbor police Wednesday evening and they told him that there was no police report filed against him in the alleged incident.
While the e-mail alleges that the incident occurred after the bar closed at 2 a.m., the driver said he doesn’t accept customers after 3 a.m., and he said he had recorded in his reservation book that he told two customers he was not able to drive them at 3:31 a.m. and 3:59 a.m. Friday.
The driver said most of his passengers are women who use his service because they feel a sense of protection in his taxicab.
“They call me because they feel safe with me,” the driver said.
The driver said he was particularly surprised to hear that the reporter of the incident appeared to be a member of Tri-Delt.
“Some of my best customers are in Tri-Delt,” the driver said, naming off several of the sorority sisters that are his regular customers.
The driver said he is concerned about his reputation as a result of the e-mail.
“I would really like to know where the e-mail comes from,” The driver said. “I would like to know what happened.”
The driver said he was contacted by police and will be coming into police headquarters with his attorney at an unspecified time.
“I’ve got nothing to hide,” the driver said. “I hope the girl gets her justice, but it ain’t me.”
A Tri-Delt board officer declined to comment on the e-mail, calling the incident a “police matter,” not a “Greek matter.”