Ann Arbor police continue to investigate reported rape of U-M student

By Kyle Feldscher Crime and courts reporter

Posted on Mon, Feb 4, 2013 : 12:13 p.m.

Update: Ann Arbor might crack down on unlicensed taxicabs after reported student rape
Previous story: Student tells police taxi driver sexually assaulted her near University of Michigan campus

Ann Arbor police continue to investigate the reported rape of a female University of Michigan student by a cab driver early Sunday.

Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said police are investigating the case as third-degree criminal sexual conduct, which involves penetration. Police have interviewed the victim and are expected to follow up with her in the near future after the case is turned over to the detective bureau.

Bush said the woman described the cab as a car but it’s unclear what company the cab came from and if it was a tax licensed by the city or a limousine service licensed by the state. The woman got in the cab alone at 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of South University Avenue and the alleged rape took place in a parking lot near the 300 block of East Madison Avenue, near Packard Street.

“We’re reminding people to travel in pairs, even if you’re taking a cab,” Bush said.

The woman was treated at the University of Michigan Hospital’s emergency room and police were sent there after the incident was reported, Bush said. The only available description of the driver describes him as a white man with short hair, possibly brown.

The city of Ann Arbor licenses more than 100 taxicabs and more than 200 taxi drivers, but there are many limousine companies allowed to impersonate cabs due to the Limousine Transportation Act. That law allowed any vehicle with a seating capacity of 15 or less to be classified as a limousine and is licensed through the Michigan Department of Transportation.

It’s unclear at this point what type of vehicle the woman got into and Bush said police are planning to interview her again to get more information.

“Licensing a taxicab goes out of clerk’s office, but we’re involved in records checks and coordinate a lot of it,” Bush said. “But, limos are different. They can be cars, minivans. That’s done by the state. She described it as a cab and a car.”

Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call the Ann Arbor police anonymous tip line at 734-794-6939 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).