A Las Vegas Uber driver was arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping passenger he was driving during an early-morning trip.
Dawed Mekonene, 30, was charged for the assault on Dec. 20. He faces several charges, including sexually motivated kidnapping, battery by strangulation with intent to commit sexual assault, and two counts of sexual assault, Fox News reported.
The female victim, whose age wasn’t disclosed, told authorities that she ordered an Uber on Dec. 16. Mekonene arrived in a green Toyota Camry.
“During the ride, the victim fell asleep in the backseat of the vehicle and woke up as Mekonene began to sexually assault her,” police said. “After the assault, the victim was driven to the originally requested destination.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal was able to identify Mekonene as a driver and obtained a copy of his driving record from the company, which shows the victim’s trip started in the area of the Las Vegas Strip and ended at an apartment complex nearly six miles away. It also indicates that Mekonene allegedly ended the trip midway through but then restarted it 22 minutes later. The report says that the victim was dropped off at her initial requested stop.
The unidentified woman was reportedly from out of state.
The police report details the woman’s terrifying trip. Apparently, she dozed off about five minutes into the trip and then woke up during the backseat assault. Mekonene allegedly strangled the woman until she fell unconscious.
Authorities said when they arrived at the stop, he “pulled her out of the car and threw her clothes and other belongings at her” and added that the drop-off was caught on surveillance footage.
The local district attorney’s office dropped the kidnapping charge against Mekonene, but not the other charges. He is due in court on Dec. 30.
Uber told the Review-Journal that the company was assisting law enforcement in their investigation.
“The details described by the rider are horrific, and we immediately deactivated the driver,” the Uber spokesperson told the news site.
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