South Carolina Uber driver charged with kidnapping and sexual assault
An Uber spokeswoman said the company dropped the driver after learning of the charges and is assisting authorities with their investigation.
A South Carolina driver for the popular driver service Uber faces sexual assault charges after a passenger reported that he attacked her instead of driving her home from a bar, authorities said.
Patrick Aiello, 39, a sixth-grade social studies teacher in North Charleston, South Carolina, was booked into jail on Monday on felony charges of kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. Both offences are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
An Uber spokeswoman said on Wednesday the company dropped Aiello after learning of the charges and is assisting authorities with their investigation.
Officials with the Charleston County school district could not be immediately reached for comment. Several media reports said Aiello was put on paid administrative leave.
The 23-year-old woman told police that she and a male friend had requested an Uber driver for a ride home from a beachfront bar in Isle of Palms, near Charleston, late on Sunday evening, according to an arrest affidavit.
Aiello dropped them off at the man's house but the woman asked Aiello to take her to her own house a few blocks away because she did not want to walk home in the dark, the affidavit said. Aiello drove her to a location along the Savannah Highway in Charleston and demanded "sexual favours" in exchange for taking her home, it said.