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Police Search for Livery Cabbie Accused of Raping Passenger
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 6, 2009
Modified Mar 6, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 6, 2009
Modified Mar 6, 2009
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A livery cab driver who was thrust into the spotlight last year in a faked abandoned baby story is now wanted for allegedly raping a passenger in Astoria. The police are looking for Klever Sailema (pictured, center), who may be in hiding or may have even left the country.
According to police, a 23-year-old waitress passed out drunk in his cab and Sailema allegedly assaulted her. A source told the Daily News, "She kinda wakes up and finds him on top of her. She fought him off and got away," with the woman managing to grab Sailema's livery cab license and getting another livery cab.
However, Sailema apparently told NYS Federation of Taxi Drivers's Fernando Mateo that the sex was consensual; Mateo said, "He's afraid. He doesn't understand why he's being charged. According to him, she was drunk. He doesn't feel like he did anything wrong." Mateo added that Sailema said the woman was "leading him on."
Sailema's attorney told the News that Sailema would turn himself in today, but the Post's sources suspect he may have fled to his native Ecuador. Last year, Sailema brought a 6-month old baby to a firehouse, claiming the baby's father abandoned her in his cab. It turned out the baby was his girlfriend's niece—his girlfriend's 27-year-old brother was overwhelmed with watching the baby after the baby's 14-year-old mother left—so they plotted a way to abandon the baby in a safe place. Though he and his girlfriend were initially arrested, the Queens DA's office believed that Sailema was ultimately thinking about the baby's safety and did not pursue charges.
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crime
Klever Sailema
livery cab
queens
rape
rape accusation
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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