Former Halifax taxi driver testifies at his sexual assault trial

HALIFAX, N.S. — A former taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger in Halifax last year admits he had physical contact with the young woman in his vehicle but insists it was with her consent and only for the purpose of consoling her.

“It didn’t have anything to do about sex or a sexual thing,” Marwan Al Ali testified Oct. 30 through an Arabic interpreter at his trial in Halifax provincial court.

“It was just a kind of compassion and kindness.”

Al Ali’s trial got underway in August with testimony from the complainant, who is now 20.

The young woman told the court that during a trip from downtown Halifax to an apartment building on Fenwick Street in the early morning hours of May 23, 2022, the driver touched her hair, kissed her twice, grabbed one of her breasts and put his hand on one of her thighs – all against her will.

But Al Ali, 51, disputed much of the evidence from the complainant, who said she was “pretty intoxicated” at the time but had a “straight mind.”

The woman said the driver stopped the van shortly after she got in on Grafton Street and demanded that she move from the back seat to the front seat. She said she did so against her better judgment.

Al Ali said the woman, who was emotional and crying, asked him if she could get into the front seat.

After she switched seats, he said they talked about why she was sad. He said he stopped the van again and, wanting to comfort her, asked if he could touch her hair. He said he did not raise his voice or speak in a threatening tone.

“It was only a short touch and we continued,” said the married Halifax father of five.

He said he told the woman, “You’re going to be all right and I’m going to take you home.”

Defence lawyer Chris Cheverie asked Al Ali if there was any indication the woman didn’t want him to touch her hair.

“No, it was a normal situation,” Al Ali replied.

He said the woman kept on crying and talking to herself as he drove her to the Fenwick Street address.

After they reached the destination, he said she dug out the $5 fare they had agreed on for the trip.

“She gave me the money, and she was so kind, and she came to hug me,” Al Ali said. “I thought hugging was thanking.”

‘Remembered’ wife and children

As she came close to him, he said he asked if he could kiss her, and she said, “Yes, of course.”

“My face came closer to her,” Al Ali said. “I can’t remember if my lips touched her, but that was possible.

“But then suddenly, I pushed her away from me. I remembered my wife, my children, and I said there’s something wrong here.

“So, I pushed her away and I told her, ‘You should go home and rest.’”

He said the woman seemed surprised.

“As far as I’m concerned, I pushed her away in the right moment so that nothing would happen between us,” Al Ali said.

He said he opened the passenger door and pushed the woman out of the vehicle.

“As she was leaving the car, she was still looking at me,” he said. “And then I drove away.”

Al Ali said he made two more trips that morning before hearing from Casino Taxi, the company he drove for, that someone had complained about him.

“It was something abnormal for me, because nothing happened,” he said. “I went home and I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t.”

In direct examination by his lawyer, Al Ali said he got permission from the woman before touching her hair and possibly kissing her. He said he did not try to kiss her a second time, never touched her breast or thigh and never spoke to her in a threatening manner.

Lied to police

When Al Ali was questioned by police about a month later, he lied to them and denied that he had tried to kiss the complainant.

He explained that he is originally from Syria and fears the police. He said he was scared that if he told police the truth, they would immediately take him to prison.

“I was very, very much afraid for my family,” he said.

“But now, it’s very important for me to tell the truth about this. … I was thinking a lot about this situation because I didn’t have anyone to communicate with or ask advice from.

“Then, finally, I decided to ask help from God Almighty. … I said if I’m going to ask help from God Almighty, at least I should tell the truth.”

Crown attorney Carla Ball began cross-examining Al Ali and will have more questions for him when the trial resumes in December. She told Chief Judge Perry Borden that based on Al Ali’s direct testimony, she might apply to call rebuttal evidence from the complainant and a friend who hailed the cab for her.

Before closing her case last week, Ball also called evidence from a young man who lived in an apartment below the unit where the complainant was staying that night and from Brian Herman, president and operations manager with Casino Taxi.

The tenant called 911 to report a possible domestic disturbance after hearing the woman crying in the apartment above his and pleading with someone.

Herman confirmed that the meter in Al Ali‘s taxi was not engaged for the trip. He said GPS tracking shows the vehicle was on Grafton Street at about 1:27 a.m. and stopped on Fenwick Street about six minutes later.