Tag: lyft
Lyft driver charged with kidnapping, raping intoxicated female passenger
A Lyft driver in Louisiana kidnapped and raped an intoxicated female passenger at his apartment last month, authorities said.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said the 43-year-old victim told police in New Orleans that a driver later identified as Yousef Hamed, 30, picked her up after a night of drinking on Jan. 23. A friend of the woman had earlier called for a ride on her behalf because she was “fairly intoxicated,” Lopinto told reporters Thursday.
But instead of taking the woman to her home just several blocks away, Hamed drove her to his apartment in Harvey, where he asked the woman to come inside. She accepted the invitation and Hamed proceeded to remove her clothing inside the residence before raping her vaginally and anally. He then returned to the Bywater section of New Orleans and dropped the woman off, Lopinto said.
At some point during the ride, Hamed disconnected the fare, signaling to the woman’s friend that the trip was over and that she presumably had arrived home safely, according to the sheriff.
“Most people are going to be able to get home [when using ride-hailing apps like Lyft] but it goes to show that we have sick people in this world,” Lopinto told reporters.
The woman reported the alleged rape to New Orleans police the following day, prompting a rape kit to be performed. Due to her state of intoxication, the woman was initially unsure of exactly where the sexual assault occurred, but investigators later determined with the help of Lyft representatives that the rape took place in Jefferson Parish, authorities said.
Hamed, who has no known prior criminal history, remained held on $400,000 bond at the Jefferson Parish Correctional as of Friday, jail records show.
Lopinto also noted that Hamed claimed that he had consensual sex with the woman, claiming that she had acted in a “childish” manner and admitted to him that she was intoxicated. But Lopinto dismissed that claim, saying that an impaired person cannot provide consent to sexual activity.
“I hate to put it this way, but when somebody’s intoxicated to any point, we know in this society that this action is not appropriate, so I could care less about what he says from that standpoint,” Lopinto told reporters. “A Lyft driver should never be picking up a stranger and bringing them back to their apartment under any type of circumstance, so let’s make that very clear.”
Lyft reps, meanwhile, characterized the allegations as “horrific” in a statement to The Post.
“The safety of our community is our top priority, and we have no tolerance for this behavior on our platform,” the statement read. “We have deactivated the driver and reached out to extend our support to the passenger. We have also been in touch with law enforcement, and stand ready to assist with their investigation.”
High school soccer coach accused of pimping teen girls
A high school soccer coach who also worked as a rideshare driver was arrested for human trafficking after a 17-year-old girl called police and said she was being sold for sex, authorities in California said.
Elan Daniel Seagraves, 34, of Sacramento, was arrested on Christmas Day after the teen contacted the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and said she was sexually assaulted and being forced into human trafficking, sheriff officials said in a news release.
The girl told deputies she was hiding in the back yard of a home in south Sacramento at the time and that the man responsible for forcing her into performing sex acts for money was waiting for her in a nearby vehicle, sheriff officials said.
Responding deputies then found Seagraves in a car with another girl who was also 17. Both girls were victims of human trafficking, authorities said.
Investigators learned that Seagraves had worked as the boys’ soccer coach at Kennedy High School in Sacramento, as well as a coach and referee for various local youth soccer leagues. He also worked as a driver for both Uber and Lyft, according to sheriff officials.
Seagraves, who was arrested on charges related to human trafficking and pimping of a minor, remained held on $2 million bail as of Monday, jail records show. He’s scheduled to return to court Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
There’s no indication that the allegations are connected to Seagraves’ role as a soccer coach or driver, but authorities want to talk to anyone who had interactions with him, KTXL reports.
“It’s absolutely 100 percent alarming,” Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shaun Hampton told the station. “We want to encourage, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of any other things they may be involved in, it’s important to come forward.”
School district officials, meanwhile, said they were disappointed in Seagraves’ “unacceptable” behavior.
“While he passed a background check and had no prior offenses when we hired him to coach soccer in our district, we expect more appropriate behavior from someone we trusted to work with our kids,” according to a statement released by the Sacramento City Unified School District. “Mr. Seagraves will no longer be allowed to work with our kids in any capacity.”
Seagraves also holds a teaching credential and has worked in the past as a substitute teacher and an instructional aide, according to the Sacramento Bee, citing a government watchdog group called Transparent California.
An Uber official also confirmed that Seagraves had worked as a driver and passed a background check in accordance with state law. He has since been removed from the rideshare service, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Seagraves’ Lyft account has also been “immediately disabled,” according to company officials.
“These allegations are incredibly disturbing,” Lyft officials told the newspaper in a statement. “Our concern is with the victims, and we stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way that we can.”
Anyone with information regarding Seagraves is asked to contact Sacramento County sheriff’s officials at (916) 874-8002.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/01/01/high-school-soccer-coach-accused-of-pimping-teen-girls/