Ottawa police and taxi officials are investigating a sexual assault allegedly involving a taxi driver.

It happened on Nov. 9 at 2:30 a.m. when a 20-year-old woman flagged down a taxi on Bank Street near Hunt Club Road.

The woman was driven to a residential area near McCarthy and Walkley roads where she said the driver sexually assaulted her inside the taxi.

That suspect is described as having “slightly dark” skin, balding, in his 50s, chubby with crooked teeth.

Police did not name the taxi company. The fare was not registered with the taxi company because the cab was flagged down on the street.

Taxi company has faith it can find suspect

Coventry Connections, which either owns or provides services for many major taxi companies in Ottawa, said Monday it shouldn't take long to find the suspect in the assault.

"We have a whole system of GPS tracking and cameras in (every) cab," said company president Hanif Patni.

"Once we have been told by the customer what a driver looks like and where they took the taxi, it makes it relatively easy for us to start doing the research and helping the police."

He said Saturday's incident is an "unusual" one and the public shouldn't be concerned for their safety, as they move more than 20,000 passengers a day.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ottawa at 613-236-1222, ext. 5944, or Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477.