news
08-12-2015, 02:55 PM
A South Carolina sixth-grade teacher who moonlights as a driver for Uber is accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger.
Patrick Aiello, 39, faces charges of kidnapping and forcible rape (http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150811/PC16/150819841/1177/school-teacher-working-as-uber-driver-accused-of-kidnapping-sexually-assaulting-woman), according to The Post and Courier. He has been removed as an Uber driver, and placed on paid leave from his job at Zucker Middle School in Charleston.
According to police, Aiello picked up the 23-year-old alleged female victim and a male companion from the Windjammer Club in Isle of Palms on Sunday night. He drove the passengers to the man's home in downtown Charleston and dropped him off.
Although she initially exited the car, the woman, who was intoxicated, decided she didn't want to walk home alone, according to police. She asked Aiello to drive her to her residence a few blocks away.
Instead of driving her home, police said, Aiello drove around until the woman noticed that they weren't in her neighborhood. She told police that Aiello then said she needed to pay him in sexual favors (http://www.abcnews4.com/story/29760841/records-jerry-zucker-6th-grade-teacher-arrested-for-criminal-sexual-conduct).
The passenger told cops she offered Aiello money and begged him to let her exit the car, but he yelled at her and demanded sex. He then stopped the car along Savannah Highway and allegedly assaulted her, police said.
Afterward, he kicked her out of the vehicle. The woman ran for help and was struck by a car on the highway in the process. She told responders she'd been assaulted by an unknown man. She later picked Aiello out of a lineup.
Investigators said the woman said she had trouble recalling details, but that she remembers Aiello being on top of her.
Aiello, who was arrested Monday, told detectives that he'd stopped the car along the highway, then kissed the woman and performed oral sex on her before kicking her out of his car.
Uber said in a statement that they are cooperating with authorities.
The ride-sharing company has been criticized for being slow to tighten its driver screening process as it expands. Last year, Gawker reported how some drivers shared accounts in order to get around the company's background check system (http://valleywag.gawker.com/uber-driver-heres-how-we-get-around-background-checks-1596982249), which was run by a third party.
Uber did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Huffington Post.
There have been several cases involving the alleged sexual assaults of female passengers by male Uber drivers.
In December, a Chicago Uber driver was charged with criminal sexual assault (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/chicago-uber-driver-charged-alleged-rape-passenger-article-1.2060817) after a passenger said she blacked out and woke up in his apartment with the man on top of her.
"I was just sexually assaulted by my Uber driver and I'm superb [sic] drunk, but I need someone to remind me to follow through to make sure this never happens again," the woman wrote in a text to a friend the night of the alleged assault, according to the New York Daily News.
Earlier that month, an Uber driver in Boston pleaded not guilty to multiple charges (http://www.ibtimes.com/uber-boston-rape-case-driver-pleads-not-guilty-sexually-assaulting-passenger-1762646) in the alleged rape of a passenger. In that case, the driver allegedly climbed into the back seat with a female passenger, then beat her before locking the doors and sexually assaulting her.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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Patrick Aiello, 39, faces charges of kidnapping and forcible rape (http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150811/PC16/150819841/1177/school-teacher-working-as-uber-driver-accused-of-kidnapping-sexually-assaulting-woman), according to The Post and Courier. He has been removed as an Uber driver, and placed on paid leave from his job at Zucker Middle School in Charleston.
According to police, Aiello picked up the 23-year-old alleged female victim and a male companion from the Windjammer Club in Isle of Palms on Sunday night. He drove the passengers to the man's home in downtown Charleston and dropped him off.
Although she initially exited the car, the woman, who was intoxicated, decided she didn't want to walk home alone, according to police. She asked Aiello to drive her to her residence a few blocks away.
Instead of driving her home, police said, Aiello drove around until the woman noticed that they weren't in her neighborhood. She told police that Aiello then said she needed to pay him in sexual favors (http://www.abcnews4.com/story/29760841/records-jerry-zucker-6th-grade-teacher-arrested-for-criminal-sexual-conduct).
The passenger told cops she offered Aiello money and begged him to let her exit the car, but he yelled at her and demanded sex. He then stopped the car along Savannah Highway and allegedly assaulted her, police said.
Afterward, he kicked her out of the vehicle. The woman ran for help and was struck by a car on the highway in the process. She told responders she'd been assaulted by an unknown man. She later picked Aiello out of a lineup.
Investigators said the woman said she had trouble recalling details, but that she remembers Aiello being on top of her.
Aiello, who was arrested Monday, told detectives that he'd stopped the car along the highway, then kissed the woman and performed oral sex on her before kicking her out of his car.
Uber said in a statement that they are cooperating with authorities.
The ride-sharing company has been criticized for being slow to tighten its driver screening process as it expands. Last year, Gawker reported how some drivers shared accounts in order to get around the company's background check system (http://valleywag.gawker.com/uber-driver-heres-how-we-get-around-background-checks-1596982249), which was run by a third party.
Uber did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Huffington Post.
There have been several cases involving the alleged sexual assaults of female passengers by male Uber drivers.
In December, a Chicago Uber driver was charged with criminal sexual assault (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/chicago-uber-driver-charged-alleged-rape-passenger-article-1.2060817) after a passenger said she blacked out and woke up in his apartment with the man on top of her.
"I was just sexually assaulted by my Uber driver and I'm superb [sic] drunk, but I need someone to remind me to follow through to make sure this never happens again," the woman wrote in a text to a friend the night of the alleged assault, according to the New York Daily News.
Earlier that month, an Uber driver in Boston pleaded not guilty to multiple charges (http://www.ibtimes.com/uber-boston-rape-case-driver-pleads-not-guilty-sexually-assaulting-passenger-1762646) in the alleged rape of a passenger. In that case, the driver allegedly climbed into the back seat with a female passenger, then beat her before locking the doors and sexually assaulting her.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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