Man accused of kidnapping, sex assault arrested

By Jinae West

Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 | 6:41 p.m.

Phillip Taft

Metro Police detectives arrested a man Monday on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and impersonating an officer.

Philip Taft is accused of showing a woman a badge that indicated he was a vice detective. The woman complied with the man's commands and was taken to an undisclosed area, where the alleged sexual assault took place, police said.

The incident occurred in the area of Tropicana Avenue and Wynn Boulevard. Authorities said the man claimed he had a gun.

Taft was arrested at the Investigative Services Division at 4750 W. Oakey Blvd. He is being held without bail on a first-degree kidnapping charge. The sexual assault charge carries a $10,000 bail, the two lewdness charges amount to a $6,000 bail and the impersonating a police officer charge has a bail of $1,000.

Taft is scheduled to appear in court at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 5.

Anyone with information regarding Taft is asked to contact sexual assault Detective Gerald Bello at 828-3421.