Florida man raped spring breaker by posing as Uber driver, cops say

A Florida man has been accused of raping a teen on spring break by posing as her Uber driver, authorities said.

Shapsly Silencieux, 37, picked up the 18-year-old woman after she got separated from friends Saturday night at America’s Backyard restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, news station WPLG reported.

The teen visiting from Alabama had requested an Uber, but mistakenly climbed into Silencieux’s vehicle, police said.

“She walks up to the vehicle, says to the driver, ‘Are you my Uber?’ He says ‘Yes,’” Fort Lauderdale police Sgt. DeAnna Greenlaw told news station WSVN.

“As they’re driving away, she gets a notification on her phone that her Uber request had been canceled, and she’s been charged a certain fee.”

When she confronted him again about whether he was her driver, he insisted that he was but that they would need to stop at his apartment to grab his wallet to buy gas, police said.

While at the apartment, he allegedly forced her into the bedroom and raped her, authorities said.

The teen told cops she tried to call an Uber, but Silencieux grabbed her phone and told her he would drive her to where she was staying in Bal Harbor.

She managed to memorize his license plate and called 911 when she was dropped off, police said.

Authorities tracked Silencieux down and arrested him on suspicion of sexual battery.

Uber confirmed that Silencieux was a driver, but the app was not used during the trip.

“Everyone has the right to travel safely and our thoughts are with the victim after this horrific experience,” the company said in a statement obtained by WSVN.

“While this trip did not take place on the Uber app, we immediately removed the driver’s access to the app as soon as this was reported to us.”

via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/16/florida-man-raped-spring-breaker-by-posing-as-uber-driver-cops/

Photo Credit: Fort Lauderdale Police