A Calgary cab driver has been ordered to stand trial for the alleged sexual assault of a passenger.
Umar Khayyam was arrested in February 2015, after a Global News story featured a 22-year-old woman who described being locked in a cab and assaulted.
Watch below: Global’s previous coverage of this case
The woman said she had taken a taxi home from downtown Calgary, when the driver started asking her personal questions that made her feel uncomfortable. She said the driver locked the doors, turned off his meter and drove her to a secluded alley. It’s alleged he then forced her out of the cab and sexually assaulted her.
Eventually she said she escaped and called police when her attacker slipped on some ice.
Officials used geotechnology to isolate the area and track down the suspect.
Police also obtained surveillance video from a nearby gas station.
Khayyam was released on $800 cash bail.
He’s no longer allowed to drive a cab in Calgary.
Khayyam was in Canada as a temporary foreign worker for less than a year when the alleged incident happened.
If convicted, he could be deported.
A preliminary inquiry ended Thursday, with a judge ruling there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Khayyam will be back in court Dec. 9.
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