Uber Driver Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - North Miami Beach Police say a woman who was visiting South Florida in March got into an Uber in their city late on a Saturday night in March.
What happened on that ride left the woman victimized, has the Uber driver facing serious criminal charges again and has raised significant questions about how this man could drive for Uber in the first place.
Emilio Victores is accused of picking up a woman while driving for Uber then committing an attempted sexual battery on her in the car later when she was asleep.
The woman told police that she did an Uber pool ride and she climbed into the front seat of the car when a group got in after her.
Watch Ty Russell's report:
A police report in the case says from there, "the victim fell asleep in the front seat and was awakened when the driver known to her as Emilio, was on top of her kissing her on the lips."
The report says "the victim said that she pushed him off and yelled 'Stop! Get off me!' and that Emilio replied, 'I'm sorry,' and he complied and got off of her."
The woman told North Miami Beach police she realized that her private parts were exposed and so were those of Victores. She said the car was stopped on the side of the road and that she was alone in the vehicle. She demanded that Victores drop her off.
Police confronted Victores about the allegations a few weeks later when they received a DNA sample from him.
A police report says Victores told them he dropped the woman off "at no charge and not on the Uber app." The report says"(Victores) also admitted to stopping the vehicle on the side of the road. He alleged that he did this to check the tires on his vehicle."
Police arrested him on a charge of attempted sexual battery on a helpless victim.
In court Friday, Miami-Dade prosecutors told a judge that Victores has a criminal history.
According to Florida prison records, Victores was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2002 for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
He was released in 2016. Prison records show he also served prison time in the late 1990's for several charges including attempted robbery with a gun or deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a weapon and grand theft.
Those details left the prosecutor with deep concerns.
"It's scary that someone with that criminal history would be allowed to drive for Uber," the prosecutor told the judge, calling the situation "terrifying"
CBS 4 News reached out to Uber for comment on the case. A spokesperson said in a statement, "What's been described is deeply upsetting and our thoughts are with the rider during this difficult time. The driver's access to the app was removed as soon as it was reported to us."
Uber said they do background checks on their drivers and that they follow Florida law which allows someone to drive for companies like Uber if they have not been convicted of a felony for 5 years.
Victores' last conviction came in 2001 although he just got out of prison in 2016.
Victores is locked up in jail. The judge gave him a bond of $25-thousand dollars and said that if he gets released he needs to be on house arrest.
