Vancouver police are investigating after a North Vancouver woman was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted early Saturday morning after getting into what she thought was a taxi cab.
The 25 year-old woman was hailing a cab to come home in the 100-block of Water Street near Abbott Street in Gastown around 2 a.m. Saturday morning when a dark mini van pulled up.
It wasn't until the woman got into the van that she realized the vehicle wasn't a taxi, said Const. Brian Montague, spokesman for the Vancouver Police Department. "I think she realized quite quickly," he said. But by then it was too late.
She was driven to an area in East Vancouver where she was beaten and sexually assaulted. The woman eventually managed to escape the van and flag down a passerby, who called 9-1-1. Montague said the woman was traumatized by the attack. "She was physically injured quite badly," he said. "She's having a difficult time."
Montague said members of the high-risk offenders unit are working the case.
"There's a predator out there. Someone who took advantage of a situation."
The suspect vehicle is described as a dark-coloured older model mini van with sliding doors on both sides.
The woman's attacker is described as aboriginal, between 35 and 39, 230 to 250 pounds, obese with a large belly. He is described as 5'11" to 6' tall with a shaved head.
Call 604-717-0602 if you have information.
