Reported List of Sexual Assault Incidents Involving Uber and Lyft

Below is a list of sexual assaults incidents in the news.

Providence man arrested for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl

• Perpetrator description: Male
• Victim description: Female
• Rideshare company: None (man pretending to be Uber driver)
• Date: 12/18/2023
• Description: A British woman was attacked and almost raped while jogging by the waterfront in Beirut. A Syrian man has been arrested by Lebanese forces after confessing to the crime. The attacker harassed and assaulted the woman, tearing her clothes and trying to suffocate her before fleeing on a bicycle. The incident was reported by a woman, and the suspect was arrested for attempted rape.

Uber Driver Charged With Inappropriately Touching Rider

• Perpetrator description: Male
• Victim description: Female (15 years old)
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 3/7/2023
• Description: Ronald Yaniak, was arrested and charged by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office after a victim and three other passengers requested an Uber ride from Barnegat to Tuckerton. The alleged victim was seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle when the incident occurred.

Uber driver arrested over unwanted sexual advances to female passenger, exposing himself

• Perpetrator: Male (44 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 3/1/2023
• Description: According to a police report, a female passenger has accused an Uber driver of making unwanted sexual advances during a ride last month, which allegedly included the driver touching her and exposing himself. The accused driver, Wilder A. Sosaolivero, 44, of Hialeah, is now facing felony kidnapping charges and misdemeanor charges of battery and indecent exposure.

Watervliet firefighter convicted in sexual abuse of Uber driver

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber driver assaulted by passenger
• Date: 2/7/2023
• Description: Edward Rolfe, a Watervliet firefighter, has been convicted on charges of harassment, sexual abuse, and forcible touching for sexually assaulting an Uber driver. The jury found him guilty on all counts, and he has been suspended from his job with pay for nearly four years.

Man impersonating Uber driver arrested for sexually assaulting women in DC

• Perpetrator:Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber (pretended to be driver)
• Date: 1/29/23
• Description: Claudio Andres Vizcarra pretended to be an Uber driver when he allegedly committed the crimes. He is charged with First Degree of Sexual Assault and MSA for his involvement in the following incidents from 2022. According to her account, the victim states that her friend attempted to order three consecutive Ubers for her to go home the night of the assault, but they were all canceled. She was left alone after her friends had already departed from the bar. Vizcarra, driving a newer model Toyota Camry, asked her to move from the back seat to the front seat, as he planned to pick up more rideshare passengers. However, he took advantage of her vulnerability, partially pushing her out of the car window and sexually assaulting her.

Uber driver sentenced for sexually assaulting passenger

• Perpetrator:Male (69 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 1/7/23
• Description: Mohammed Abu Sayed, aged 69, was convicted of a single count of sexual assault and was sentenced last week. Once his house arrest period is over, Sayed will be placed on probation for 18 months, which includes several conditions. He is prohibited from working as a ride-share, taxi, or limo driver, as well as being banned from entering liquor stores, bars, pubs, or nightclubs.

Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting passenger in Scottsdale

• Perpetrator:Male (30 years old)
• Victim: Female (23 years old)
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 10/28/22
• Description: Mark A. Taylor was accused of sexual assault after picking up an intoxicated woman at a party. She needed to be carried to the car by her friends when she was picked up. During the ride, Taylor allegedly sexually assaulted her while in the backseat of the vehicle.

Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting passenger in Scottsdale

• Perpetrator:Male (41 years old)
• Victim: Females
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 10/20/22
• Description: Prosecutors have charged a Denver man who is suspected of kidnapping and sexually assaulting, or attempting to sexually assault, at least 10 women over the past four years with 41 felonies. All the victims whose accounts were described in the affidavit had consumed alcohol and lost consciousness during the assaults. However, the majority of them also had their assailant steal their phones, underwear, and other personal belongings.

Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting an SMU student

• Perpetrator:Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 10/18/22
• Description: An SMU student accused an Uber driver of sexual assault on campus, resulting in the driver losing their job and being arrested. Anselmo Alejandro Amil Contreras, who was charged for sexually assaulting an SMU student earlier this month, had entered the country illegally almost two decades ago. Currently, he is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Man accused of posing as Uber driver charged with sexual assault, rape

• Perpetrator:Male (59 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber (pretended to be a driver)
• Date: 10/17/22
• Description: Police in Melbourne have accused Francesco De Luise, 59, of posing as an Uber driver and preying on inebriated women outside of bars and clubs in the city’s inner suburbs. De Luise, who hails from Airport West, has been charged with 10 counts of sexual assault and one count of rape in connection with the assaults of three women over the last year and a half. One of the women allegedly recorded a portion of her assault in his vehicle without his knowledge. De Luise was taken into custody last month.

Registered sex offender discovered driving for Uber Eats

• Perpetrator:Male
• Rideshare company: UberEats
• Date: 10/11/22
• Description: Convicted of a violent sexual offense, Randall Butler was arrested in Nashville for violating his sex offender registry conditions. He failed to report his Uber Eats job and was found with an unregistered Snapchat account.

Uber driver charged with sexually assaulting passenger and raping two other women

• Perpetrator:Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 10/6/22
• Description: The victim, known as Jane Doe, was assaulted by her Uber driver on her way back home. She fell asleep in the back seat and woke up to the driver’s hands under her skirt. Despite pretending to be asleep for a while, she eventually had to confront the situation.

Maine Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting woman

• Perpetrator:Male (28 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 9/21/22
• Description: Joseph Graston, aged 28, is facing charges of two counts of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual contact. The charges relate to an incident where a woman, who had become intoxicated at a nightclub in Bangor, ordered an Uber ride. During the ride, the woman recalls vomiting and Graston holding back her hair, but has gaps in her memory. The next morning, she discovered evidence consistent with sexual assault and underwent a sexual assault kit. Initially, Graston denied the accusations, but later admitted to a sexual act that took place at another location in Bangor and outside the woman’s apartment.

Massachusetts ride-share driver charged with multiple sexual assaults

• Perpetrator:Male (43 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 9/23/22
• Description: William Mancortes, a former Uber driver, is due to appear in court after being accused of six sexual assaults. Mancortes, 43, was arrested by Boston police and is facing two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery charges in Boston. Additionally, he is wanted for charges of aggravated rape and kidnapping in Quincy District Court. Last year, he was charged with indecent assault and battery and accused of groping a passenger while working as an Uber driver.

Uber Driver Sentenced to 54 to Life for Assaults on Passengers in California

• Perpetrator: Male (46 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 9/23/22
• Description: An Uber driver who sexual assaulted and raped passengers was sentenced on Monday to 46 years to life. A jury convicted the Uber driver of three rapes and 13 felonies. The judge assigned a separate term of 8 years and 8 months, resulting in a total term of 54 years.

SoCal lawsuit alleges Uber driver sexually assaulted woman who fell asleep in back seat

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 9/23/22
• Description: A woman, identified as Jane EN Doe, is suing Uber Technologies Inc. for allegedly allowing a driver to sexually assault her while she was sleeping in the back seat of his car in 2021. The lawsuit, filed in Beverly Hills Superior Court, includes charges of sexual battery and assault, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. According to the suit, the driver stopped the car about a quarter of a mile away from Doe’s home and sexually assaulted her while she was asleep. Doe claims to have suffered physical and emotional distress, embarrassment, and loss of self-esteem.

Uber faces suit from women alleging sexual assault by drivers

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Females
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 7/13/22
• Description: Uber faces a lawsuit from women alleging sexual assault by drivers. The complaint, filed Wednesday, claims that “women passengers in multiple states were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked” by their Uber drivers.

Uber driver free on bond after aggravated sexual battery charge

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 7/1/22
• Description:An Augusta man is already free on bond after being arrested last week on indictments for aggravated sexual battery on a drunk Uber passenger in 2020.

San Diego law firm suing Uber, Lyft following sexual assault allegations

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Lyft
• Date: 5/23/22
• Description: An Oceanside mother is suing ride-hailing companies, Uber and Lyft, after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver in November 2020. The woman claims that the driver locked her in his car and drove towards the beach before she was able to escape. The driver has not yet been charged, but there is a warrant for his arrest. The incident has left the woman traumatized, and she is seeking justice through legal action against the companies.

Uber driver admits to sexually assaulting 15-year-old girl

• Perpetrator: Male (49 years old)
• Victim: Female (15 years old)
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 5/1/22
• Description: 49-year-old Uber driver Leonel Medina picked up a 15-year-old girl who called for a ride from her Houston area home to a Family Dollar nearby and instead of taking her home, drove to a dead-end street, got out of the vehicle with his keys and into the back seat, locked the doors, and sexually assaulted the teenager multiple times.

Court hearing for Uber driver accused of rape in Villas

• Perpetrator: Male (37 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 5/6/22
• Description:Felix Torres, 37, has been in jail for more than a month after the Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested him as a rape suspect in December. Security cameras captured footage of a man deputies say is Torres dropping off his Uber passenger at the Ashlar Apartments on Corbel Circle, putting on a mask, catching up to the woman and covering her mouth as he attacks her. The man left his victim on the ground and ran away with her phone.

Las Vegas Uber driver, jailed in sexual assault, dies by suicide

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 3/2/22
• Description: Dawed Mekonene, an Uber driver accused of raping a sleeping passenger, has been identified as the Las Vegas jail inmate who died by suicide. He had been charged with sexual assault and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault, which allegedly occurred in December 2022.

Former ride-hailing driver placed on house arrest in sex assault case

• Perpetrator: Male (32 years old)
• Victim: Female (13 years old)
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 11/4/21
• Description: A former Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl he met through the ride-hailing app — and punching her in the face at a New Haven nightclub while out on bond — is now under house arrest. Tyrone Craddock, 46, appeared in Superior Court Tuesday, where he faces charges of first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor in the case, in which police said he plied the teenage girl with Four Loko malt beverage and marijuana before raping her in a car at Walnut Beach in May 2019.

Lyft Driver Accused of Raping Miami Beach Tourist in Car

• Perpetrator: Male (32 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Lyft
• Date: 11/25/21
• Description: Lyft driver, Kevyn Rojas, was arrested after allegedly raping a woman during a Lyft ride, instead of taking the woman back to her hotel, he drove her to a secluded place and sexually assaulted her.

Watervliet firefighter found guilty of sex abuse

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 2/7/23
• Description: Edward Rolfe, a Watervliet firefighter, has been convicted on charges of harassment, sexual abuse, and forcible touching for sexually assaulting an Uber driver. The jury found him guilty on all counts, and he has been suspended from his job with pay for nearly four years.

Lyft driver convicted in 2019 rape of passenger after she left a Huntington Beach bar

• Perpetrator: Male (45 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Lyft
• Date: 7/28/21
• Description: Jorge Tapiacastro was convicted of rape by use of drugs, rape, sexual battery, and false imprisonment after a ride he gave to an intoxicated woman leaving a bar in Huntington Beach, California. When she passed out during the ride, he pulled over and assaulted her while half a mile from her house.

Uber driver charged with zip-tying, sexually assaulting female passenger in back of vehicle

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Lyft
• Date: 6/2/2021
• Description: An Uber driver picked up a female passenger from a bar in Chicago and raped her. The victim couldn’t remember what happened until she woke up in the back seat of a car with her hands restrained. The driver then raped her for about 15 minutes and later apologized, claiming that she had experienced his “bad side.” The man then drove her to her parents’ home and repeatedly apologized, saying that his girlfriend is mean to him.

Uber Driver in Boston Faces Sexual Assault Charge

• Perpetrator: Male (25 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 4/14/2021
• Description: Sonpreet Singh, of Somerville, surrendered to police on Sunday after a woman told detectives on April 14 that she’d been assaulted by a driver for a ride-hailing service, police said.

Uber driver gets 10 years probation after sexually assaulting Boulder woman

• Perpetrator: Male (42 years old)
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 3/28/2021
• Description: An Uber driver who sexually assaulted a woman he drove home in 2019 was sentenced to 10 years of probation on Friday. Mark Saunders, 42, pleaded guilty in March to unlawful sexual contact and second-degree assault.

Suspect in armed robbery, rape, and kidnapping of Uber driver is in custody

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 3/13/2021
• Description: A Chicago man, Andrew Anania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of kidnapping, carjacking, and firearms offenses. Anania is accused of committing these offenses while on pre-trial release for a previously charged federal gun offense. The superseding indictment alleges that Anania kidnapped the drivers of three vehicles and stole two of the victims’ motor vehicles with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm. Anania had previously been indicted on a kidnapping charge for one of the incidents, during which he also sexually abused his victim.

Quincy Uber driver indicted on Weymouth rape charge

• Perpetrator: Male
• Victim: Female
• Rideshare company: Uber
• Date: 7/2/2020
• Description: Frederick Q. Amfo, a driver for Uber, was charged with rape after picking up a woman who requested a ride in the evening. During the drive, Amfo drove to a dark street, where he allegedly raped the woman in his vehicle.