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Police: Boston Fake Cabbie Attack 'Erroneous'

Updated 8/29: 

BOSTON — Boston police say a woman who told them she was sexually assaulted by the driver of a vehicle she believed was a taxi cab is not credible.

Police said Wednesday that they had closed the investigation into the alleged attack in the early morning hours of Aug. 18 in the city's Brighton neighborhood.

Police said in a statement that "Evidence, witness interviews and statements, led detectives to believe the facts of the case did not support the allegation as reported."

The woman said she was hailing a cab when an unmarked dark four-door sedan pulled up and offered her a ride. She said she was driven to another location and sexually assaulted.

The investigation into a similar incident in the city's Seaport district on Aug. 6 remains active.

Two recent incidents in which women said they were sexually assaulted after getting into vehicles that they thought were taxis do not appear to be related, a Boston police official said Monday.

Original post:

BOSTON — Authorities also urged people to make certain they are getting rides from legitimate, licensed cab or livery service drivers before they step into the vehicles.

In the most recent incident, a woman told police she was hailing a cab at about 2 a.m. Sunday in the Brighton neighborhood when a dark four-door sedan pulled up and offered her a ride.

The victim, according to police, said she was driven to an area believed to be on the Boston-Cambridge line near the Harvard University campus, where she was attacked.

A similar incident was reported in the Seaport district earlier this month.

"At this point, nothing leads me to believe the two events are connected," Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey told reporters Monday.

No arrests had been made in either case. The driver in the latest incident was described by police as about 5-foot-8, of medium build with crooked teeth and possibly of Indian descent.

Police on Monday posted tips on its website for identifying properly licensed taxis and clearly identified livery service vehicles in the city.

Licensed cabs have the words Boston Lic. Taxi on the rear fender, and all must display their Boston police medallion numbers along with other identification stickers.

This article was originally published on August 19, 2013.

This program aired on August 19, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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