There has been a slew of incidents where Uber drivers are being charged with assaults on passengers. Just recently, a Pennsylvania judge found 27-year-old Ahmed Elgaafary of raping a drunk woman while en route to her house.
According to the NY Post, on Thursday (Aug. 15), Elgaafary was convicted of raping an unconscious person, sexual assault, and indecent assault after a jury took three hours to convict the Uber driver. While his sentencing will be announced at a later date, a Chester County District Attorney says Elgaafary will most likely be deported to Egypt where he is a citizen.
Although the incident wasn’t reported to the police until a few days after, the rape reportedly occurred in February in the backseat of Elgaafary’s car. According to the Police report, Elgaafary picked up the victim from Valley Forge Casino Resort—just north of Philadelphia—and was to drive her home. Prosecutors argued the Uber driver extended the 15-minute drive into 53 minutes in which he took advantage of the intoxicated woman.
The court docs state that Elgaafary dropped the unnamed women off at her home, charged her for the long ride and along with Uber’s mandatory fee of $150 for vomiting in his car. “She should have been safe,” Assistant District Attorney Vincent Robert Cocco said. “He knew she was vulnerable. He knew she was alone. He knew she was too drunk.”
The victim testified that she couldn’t remember anything between leaving the casino around 2 a.m. and waking up the next day, but felt that something bad had happened because she had bruises on her thighs. She went to the hospital to get a rape kit.
Elgaafary first denied the sexual encounter but he eventually admitted it occurred after DNA from the rape kit was linked to him. He later claimed that is was consensual.
On the stand, Elgaafary also admitted to knowing the woman was drunk. His lawyer argued the victim seduced him and that he initially lied to authorities because he didn’t want to admit that he cheated on his pregnant wife.
“He cheated on his wife. He’s not a rapist. He’s not a criminal,” his lawyer said in court.
Following the Judge’s verdict, Uber released a statement confirming that Elgaafary was “permanently removed” as a driver.