Uber Driver Charged With Sexually Assaulting Passenger In Chicago

Police say the former UberX driver sexually assaulted a 22-year-old female passenger on Nov. 16. The woman reported passing out in the car and then waking up in a residence during the alleged assault.

Maxime Fohounhedo booking photo.

Chicago Police Department / WBBM-TV / Via chicago.cbslocal.com

The woman told police that Fohounhedo responded to her request for a ride on UberX, which is the lower cost option in the uber app, shortly after 3 a.m. Nov. 16, but he asked her to sit in the front seat to help navigate. During the ride, Fohounhedo allegedly started sexually assaulting her and she passed out, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The woman woke up to find the driver on top of her at a residence. After Fohounhedo drove the victim home, she texted a friend that she had been raped by an Uber driver, the Tribune reported.

In a police report obtained by DNAinfo, the woman told the friend she had had too much to drink at a bar earlier in the evening, and so couldn't immediately report the allegation. But, she added, "I need someone to remind me to follow through to make sure this never happens again."

Uber, which in a statement called the incident "appalling and unacceptable," removed Fohounhedo from their platform while police investigated the allegations.

Fohounhedo was charged with sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

One constant criticism has been that the ride-sharing company does not vet its drivers as stringently as it should, putting passengers at risk.

Uber was banned earlier this month in New Delhi and other parts of India after a driver was arrested and charged with raping his passenger. At the time of the alleged rape, the driver was awaiting trial on at least four other criminal charges, and as a result much of the blame fell to Uber, which issued a public apology.

Not long after, Uber's chief of global safety, Philip Cardenas, published a blog post laying out the company's "roadmap" toward improving safety.

In Washington, D.C., a woman accused her Uber driver of sexually assaulting her while she was asleep in the backseat of his car in July.

And in London, a woman reported a driver to the company after he allegedly asked "if I wanted him to go down on me," Newsweek reported. Uber refunded her for the ride and credited her account with £20.

from BuzzFeed - USNews http://www.buzzfeed.com/jasonwells/uber-driver-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-passenger-in-ch?utm_term=4ldqpia