A 26-year-old woman told Chicago Police she passed out in the back of a taxi and woke up three hours later with the cabbie touching her in the backseat, Cook County prosecutors said Friday.
Mustafa Dikbas picked the woman up outside a River North nightclub around 3: 30 a.m. on Sunday, Assistant State’s Attorney Julia Ramirez said.
The woman fell asleep, and awoke to find the cab parked a few blocks from her home and Dikbas in the back seat with her, resting his hand on her leg, Ramirez said during a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. The woman said her skirt was hiked up to her waist, and her pantyhose torn at the crotch.
After 36-year-old Dikbas got out of the back seat, the woman noticed her purse had been emptied of everything but her ID, Ramirez said. When she confronted Dikbas about the missing credit cards and cash, he allegedly handed over the exact amount of cash that had been in her purse.
The woman asked Dikbas to drive her home, then confronted him about her disheveled clothing and missing credit cards during the drive, Ramirez said. Once at her home, Dikbas offered to help search for her missing items. Then, as the woman adjusted her skirt, Dikbas, of the 2400 block of West Grace, allegedly drove off hurriedly with the cab doors still open and the woman’s purse and cell phone.
The woman chased the cab and noted the taxi number, then asked a doorman to call 911, Ramirez said.
She later identified for police, Ramirez said.
A surveillance camera in the cab showed the woman spent more than two hours inside, and Dikbas touching her breasts over her clothes, and with his hands near her crotch, Ramirez said.
Dikbas holds a master’s degree from Rush University and emigrated to the U.S. from Turkey 12 years ago, his lawyer said.
He was ordered held without bond Friday on charges of aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated criminal, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and theft.
Two men who said they have known Dikbas for years said after the court hearing that they cannot believe the allegations against him.
The men, also taxis drivers, said that cabbies occasionally get stuck dealing with intoxicated passengers, and by law, cannot just dump them at the curb.
Cameras inside cabs typically are not equipped to film video, only still photos at intervals of a few seconds, said Ismael Onay.
“We will have to see the facts on paper, we cannot make any comment about it,” Onay said. “He’s just a good family man… he’s been working in this industry for years with out any complaints or publicity.”
