A man has been arraigned on kidnapping and rape charges in connection with allegations he pretended to be an Uber driver and assaulted a woman leaving a Boston club.
Alvin R. Campbell Jr. posed as an Uber driver and kidnapped a woman outside a holiday party at the Harp club on Dec. 7, the Boston Globe reports. Once outside the club, the woman ordered an Uber, with that driver ultimately canceling the ride "at the last moment." At this point, prosecutors say, Campbell arrived and "identified the victim by her name."
The woman later ended up in Cumberland, Rhode Island. "The next thing she remembered was a man on top of her," prosecutors told the Boston Municipal Court. Once the woman made her return to Boston, she underwent an exam at Massachusetts General Hospital. The hospital's sexual assault division collected forensic evidence, with law enforcement later gathering surveillance videos and cellphone data points showing that she was taken by Campbell from Boston to Cumberland.
Campbell's sister is Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell, who issued a statement to the Globe on the allegations against her brother, who is also said to possibly be linked to two additional sexual assault cases in 2016 and 2017.
"I am extremely heartbroken and saddened and devastated by these allegations," Councilor Campbell said. "I am, of course, thinking about the victim who had the courage to come forward."
While Campbell is said to have been pretending to be an Uber driver, the company shared a safety report about its own team of drivers last month, noting that 3,045 sexual assaults were reported during rides in 2018.
