Former Uber driver charged with sexual assault of passenger

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A former driver for Uber has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman he picked up in a Maine city.

Police in Bangor said they charged the 28-year-old man with gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact. They said in June, when he was still working for Uber, he picked up a woman for a ride after she left a nightclub, where she had become intoxicated. The woman contacted police the next morning to say she had been sexually assaulted.

Police said Wednesday the man was taken into custody and is being held without bail at Penobscot County Jail, where he is awaiting his first court appearance. It was unclear if he had been able to hire an attorney.

Uber said it terminated the man shortly after the complaint was lodged.

“This rider’s experience is truly terrifying and we are appalled by the driver’s described conduct. We banned him from the Uber platform soon as this was reported to us,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement.

Ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft announced an effort last year to create a database of drivers fired over complaints of sexual assault and other crimes.