A customer of the sedan-by-smartphone service Uber alleges earlier that after getting a late-night ride back to Cleveland Park last week, she was raped by her driver, according to a message left with the neighborhood email group.
The charge was first mentioned publicly on the Cleveland Park Yahoo! Group today. Officer Hugh Carew, an MPD spokesman, confirms that the department is investigating a sexual assault that occurred in Cleveland Park last weekend, but does not provide any other details. According to the original message on the email list, the incident occurred about 3:30 a.m. last Friday morning, though an MPD file reports it happened about 2:20 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Moreover, the assault was caught on tape. The victim’s family has a security camera in their driveway, which, according to the email, taped the driver carrying her back to the car and then striking her on the head.
Rachel Holt, the manager of Uber’s D.C. branch, says in an emailed statement that the company is working with police in response to the rape allegation, though little else.
“While there are not many details available, we take these matters extremely seriously,” she says. “The safety of our users is absolutely paramount, and we will continue to be vigilant that riders’ safety and security are protected.”
She adds that Uber suspends affiliated drivers suspected of committing a crime.
Here’s the full message from the Cleveland Park email group:
A woman’s teen-age daughter used Uber car serve to return to her home last night after a late evening. The car drove up the family’s driveway around 3:30 AM. The girl walked to the door but the driver called her back. When she went back, the driver struck her on the head and raped her.
The family has a security camera in the driveway. The camera showed the driver carrying the girl’s limp body back to the house. She is now at home, trying to rest. The entire family is of course very shaken.
Because of the cameras, they know who did it. As of this morning, he had not yet been arrested, but many officers are involved and he will be.