Suspect facing more charges

A Clark County Detention Center inmate held on a prostitution charge is the second woman to accuse a local man of impersonating a detective and sexually assaulting her, a police report said.

Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said a second set of charges has been issued against Philip Taft, 38, who now faces two counts each of impersonating a police officer, sexual assault, open and gross lewdness and kidnapping.

Taft, who was a floor supervisor at The Venetian, is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.

The report said the inmate came forward Monday after she learned Taft had been arrested. She told police Taft picked her up at 4 a.m. near a Panda Express on West Tropicana Avenue near Decatur Boulevard, where she was working as a prostitute. The report did not give a date for the incident.

The woman said she got in the car with Taft, and they began negotiating terms. He then told her he was a police officer and had a gun and a badge under the seat, the report said.

According to the report, the woman said Taft told her she had to perform oral sex or have sex with him to avoid going to jail.

The woman told police Taft drove her to an area near Sunset and Fort Apache roads and sexually assaulted her. She said Taft then told her he was actually a lawyer, and she asked for money. The woman said Taft told her all he had was $10 and gave it to her.

The woman did not go to police because she was doing something illegal, the report said. She also told police she saw Taft at the Tropicana corridor several times after she was assaulted.

On July 26, Taft approached a woman near Tropicana Avenue and Wynn Boulevard, police said. He identified himself as a plainclothes detective and said he had a gun, that woman said. The report said Taft flashed a badge at her and began asking her "prostitution-related questions."

The woman denied being a prostitute but got in Taft's car because he said he wanted to question her, the report said. The woman, identified by police as Taft's first victim, said he was very convincing.

The report said the woman assaulted July 26 believed Taft because of "his dress, his speech and his badge."

Taft drove her to an area near Decatur Boulevard and Post Road and sexually assaulted her, the report said. The woman said she tried to fight him off.

According to the report, Taft tried to rationalize his behavior.

"He asked her to stop crying, told her that he was trying to teach her a lesson," the report said. "He said, 'That's why you're never supposed to get in another guy's car.'"

Taft told police he picked up the woman at a Budget Suites on Tropicana and then drove to a gas station to pick up condoms. He then drove her to an unknown location, the report said.

He told police he had been drinking and was unable to perform sexually. He said he drove her back to the Budget Suites, and when she asked for payment, he refused.

The report said Taft denied sexually assaulting or kidnapping the woman. He also denied possessing a badge.

He is scheduled to make his first appearance in court today.

Anyone with information regarding Taft is urged to call Las Vegas police Detective G. Bello at 828-3421.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.