Uber Driver Charged with Raping Female Passenger

Police say an Uber driver has been arrested for assaulting and raping a female passenger who fell asleep in his car while he taking her to a condo-hotel in metro Las Vegas.

A Las Vegas County detention centre report indicates that Mr Dawed Oumer Mekonene, 30, was arrested on Tuesday. He remained in jail Friday pending a court hearing on charges of sexual assault, battery, and strangulation for sexual assault, according to records.

Online court records for the man did not list a defence attorney who could comment on his behalf regarding the allegations but did indicate he was represented by a public defender. On Friday, the office was closed due to the holiday.

Mr Mekonene allegedly raped the out-of-state passenger, then pulled her out of the car at a cond-hotel and threw her clothes and belongings at her, according to an arrest report.

The arrest reports indicate that the woman ran inside and asked for assistance at the front desk clerk.

Police identified the driver using Uber records, and obtained surveillance video showing the woman being dropped off. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Uber is working with police to get to the bottom of the matter.

As a result of the horrific details described by the rider, we immediately deactivated the driver, according to Uber’s email.

On its website, the company states that background checks are performed on its drivers yearly to check their criminal histories and driving records, and that technology is utilized to identify problems between those checks.

Uber users can also contact local law enforcement regarding safety concerns using their app.