Routine cab ride goes awry

Marisa O’Neil

The actions of a taxi driver who police said raped a woman he was

supposed to drive home early Tuesday are rare among such drivers,

officials said.

Costa Mesa Police arrested 36-year-old Cathedral City resident

Rodney Cornell Carter Tuesday on suspicion of rape while the alleged

victim was under the influence of an intoxicant.

The woman, a 36-year-old Placentia resident, had been out drinking

with friends at Goat Hill Tavern on Newport Boulevard Monday night,

Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Bob Ciszek said. They called 1-800-4-MY-TAXI

for a cab just before midnight to take her to another friend’s house

in the 1900 block of Wallace Avenue.

“Her friends felt she had been drinking too much and wanted to

send her home,” Ciszek said. “Her friends were concerned for her

level of intoxication.”

When she hadn’t shown up 20 minutes later at the home, which was

about four miles away, they started to worry and called the cab

company. Friends at the Wallace Avenue home looked outside and saw

the cab parked in front.

“They went up to the cab and found her in the back seat saying she

didn’t know what had occurred,” Ciszek said.

Her pants were pulled down, police said. The driver did not

attempt to flee, and the friends kept him there until police arrived,

Ciszek said.

Doctors did a sexual-assault exam on the woman, but she was not

hospitalized, police said.

Police, a cab company manager and a rape victims’ advocate said

such incidents are uncommon, and that people should not be swayed

from using such transportation.

Carter was “just a rookie” who had worked for the Santa Ana-based

company for two and a half months, said a manager who identified

himself as Chris.

“Nothing like this has happened before,” he said.

Drivers must have a county permit to work for the company, he

said.

The Orange County Transportation Authority oversees the permits

with their taxi administration program, spokesman Ted Nguyen said.

Drivers must go through annual background checks and drug and alcohol

tests to renew their permits, he said.

This type of attack is rare, said Heather Banuelos, program

director for Community Service Programs, Sexual Assault Victims

Services.

“We use a taxi service to get victims to court and have never had

an incident,” she said.

Women should not have to be afraid to go out, especially if they

make the responsible choice of not driving after drinking, Banuelos

said.

“Her friends did the safest thing they could for her, providing a

safe way to get home,” she said. “That backfired. From a woman’s

point of view, that has to be frustrating.”

The alleged incident seems to be isolated, and people should not

worry about taking taxis in the city, Ciszek said.

But the best plan is to go places with a friend whenever possible,

Banuelos said.

“The buddy system is always the best way to go, whether it’s

shopping, going to a restaurant or a club,” she said.

Carter was being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $100,000

bail. He will be arraigned today at Harbor Justice Center in Newport

Beach.