Toronto police say they have arrested and charged an Uber driver following an investigation into two separate sexual assaults in the city.
Police said the first incident occurred on Sept. 6, 2018, when officers received a call for a sexual assault in the area of Dundas and Sackville streets.
Investigators said a 24-year-old woman ordered an Uber and then entered a black SUV she thought was her driver’s.
Police allege the driver then drove away to a secluded spot and did not give the woman an opportunity to leave before she was sexually assaulted.
Once she left the vehicle, she called police.
Police said they began investigating a second incident on April 8 of this year after they received reports of a sexual assault around 1 p.m. in the area of Royal York Road and Evans Avenue.
In that incident, police said a 21-year-old woman entered a black SUV driven by a man who took her away from Toronto, to a fast food restaurant parking lot in Mississauga.
Investigators said the woman then tried to get help from a bystander, but the man drove her to a secluded side street where she was sexually assaulted.
She was later let go and called police.
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Taneem Aziz, 36, of Mississauga was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault, forcible confinement and extortion.
Aziz was employed as an Uber driver. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 23.
Uber spokesperson Kayla Whaling responded to news of the arrest Saturday in a statement to Global News.
“What’s been reported is horrible and nothing anyone should go through,” she said.
“We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to provide any information to them that would be helpful for their investigation. As soon as we learned of this, we removed this individual’s access to the app.”
Police said they believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone with information to contact them at 416-808-7474 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.
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