Sources have confirmed the identity of a Metro Transit bus driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger on an Access-A-Bus.
Halifax District RCMP received a complaint Thursday morning that a 35-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S. woman had been sexually assaulted on several occasions while travelling on a Metro Transit Access-A-Bus.
The bus system provides door-to-door service for people who are unable to use the conventional public transit system due to physical or cognitive disabilities.
RCMP allege the victim, a frequent user of the service in the Cole Harbour area, had been assaulted numerous times over a two-week period while she was a passenger on the bus.
Police arrested a 66-year-old male driver at work Thursday afternoon.
The Cole Harbour man faces a total of 21 charges: seven counts of sexual assault, seven counts of unlawful confinement and seven counts of sexual exploitation of a person with disabilities.
Harold Keizer has been driving the Access-A-Bus for Metro Transit for 18 years and is now suspended with pay.
He answered his door Monday morning, but told CTV News he wouldn’t be commenting on the matter, saying he needed to speak to a lawyer.
“I have one in mind, yes,” Keizer replied when asked if he had hired a lawyer.
According to court documents, Keizer doesn’t have any prior criminal charges or convictions. Police have yet to release the details of the charges laid against him, but have said they don’t include intercourse.
The executive director of the Canadian Paraplegic Association of Nova Scotia says people with disabilities are more vulnerable and it can be more difficult for them to report sexualized violence.
“It took a certain amount of strength and courage for that person to come forward,” says Nancy Beaton.
“A person has more opportunity or more incidents where they may be in a vulnerable situation because they require more people in their lives to provide those services.”
Police say, based on their investigation, they don’t believe Keizer has any more alleged victims.
Keizer is due in court April 16. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges against him.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
