A man who borrowed his father’s taxi in the Deciembre  24 sector of Panama City    used his time behind the wheel to pick up and rape three women passengers, a continuum of taxi-related crimes from killings to robberies,

On Friday, November 22  David Jais Azael De Gracia was sentenced to 33 years in jail for the sexual attacks which took place in October and November last year

The sexual attacks occurred between midnight and  6 a.m.  in October and November of last year. The victims aged between 22 and 29 reported the crime and De Gracia was arrested.

Also on  Friday another taxi driver, 56.  was sentenced to  eight years behind bars for the rape of a 14-year old passenger in  Arriajan In July 2019, The girl, after leaving a party, stopped a taxi to take her home, but the driver took  her to a push button (love hotel) and sexually abused her, and she became pregnant.

The two events are the latest in a string of taxi rapes and robberies.

In January of 2015, a user who took a taxi at  La Gran Estacion San Miguelito was raped by the taxi driver at knifepoint.

In November the same year, a taxi driver was charged with committing 22 robberies and 7 rapes of passengers. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

In April 2017, a taxi driver was apprehended after raping 6 women. He committed his crimes at dawn in solitary places in Limbergh Field and December 24.

Danilo Medina Bethancourth transport leader said that actions are being taken to clean up the system.

"Not only people who make violations have been introduced into the system, but there are companies that rent vehicles to anyone and that must also be eliminated."

The leader said that many times these people rent the taxi driver to others and those are the ones who commit, not only rapes, but other illicit acts like  transporting drugs