In the second case of its kind this week, Toronto police are looking for a man accused of sexual assaulting a woman after leading her to believe he was her ride-share driver.

A 28-year-old woman got into a vehicle she thought was her ordered ride on Monday night, police said, and was taken by the driver to a parking lot where he sexually assaulted her.

That same day, a 33-year-old man was arrested over a similar incident on the weekend. The man allegedly picked up a woman near Caledonia Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W., claimed he was her ride-share driver and then sexually assaulted her. Police said the man works for Uber and Lyft and that both companies were co-operating in that investigation.

Over the past year, the Star has reported on at least six cases of sexual assault involving ride-share drivers leading to at least nine charges, including those this week. Toronto police said they do not collect statistics on the number of reports involving drivers.

Rod Jones, director of bylaw enforcement with Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards division, said in an email that the city screens all drivers of taxicabs, limousines and private transportation companies, which includes conducting criminal background checks.

Jones said the city is aware of seven instances of drivers working for private transportation companies being charged with sexual assault since 2017. He said that accounts for 0.01 per cent of all such drivers.

“We partner with the industry and Toronto Police Service specifically on issues of safety,” said Jones when asked how the city is combating the issue. “The city is also currently rerunning a public education campaign to ensure passengers are aware of their rights.”

A media spokesperson for Uber said the company has been working to educate the public on ways to avoid fake ride-sharing scams since 2017.

In April, Uber announced a Check Your Ride initiative that included an in-app notification to remind riders to check their vehicle before getting into a car. The notification reminds people to reference the licence plate number, car model and driver’s photo.

Both Lyft and Uber require their driver applicants to go through a screening process, which is partly conducted by police.

During a Toronto City Council meeting on Thursday, Councillor Jim Karygiannis brought up the incident that occurred over the weekend and said “cameras in (private transportation company) vehicles would certainly have avoided what happened with this young lady.”

In response, the city’s executive director of licensing Carleton Grant called what happened an “unfortunate incident” but said cameras would not have necessarily prevented it.

As for the incident on Monday, police said in their Thursday news release that the driver also made death threats to the 28-year-old woman.

Officers responded to that incident around 10:30 p.m. near Eglinton Ave. W. and Jane St., an area close to the Humber River mostly surrounded by parks in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood.

Police are asking for public assistance to locate the man, described as being in his mid-20s to 30s with a brown complexion, a short beard, a small build and approximately five-foot-seven to five-foot-nine in height. His vehicle was described as a grey or silver car with four doors.

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Police would not say which ride-share service the woman had used.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact police at 416-808-7474, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or leave a Facebook tip.

With files from Emma Sandri

Temur Durrani is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @temurdur

Raneem Alozzi is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @r_alozzi

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