The smartphone-based car service Uber is under fire again today after a Philadelphia woman claims she was raped by her driver, Philadelphia Magazine reports. According to her testimony to police, the UberX driver held her arms down, ripped her pants, and raped her then drove around for two hours without letting her leave the car. The 33-year-old woman filed a report with the police the same day of the alleged incident on February 6th but Uber wasn't aware of the accusation until today, even though it's been over a month since the initial report.
"Upon learning of the incident, we immediately reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department to assist in their investigation and support their efforts in any way we can. As the investigation continues, the driver’s access to the Uber platform has been suspended," said Uber spokesperson Taylor Bennett.
According to the company, the driver has has not been arrested and continues to cooperate with police but his Uber account has been suspended. They also say they do screen for sex offenses in background checks conducted on all of their drivers but this isn't the first time an Uber driver has been accused of rape. Since December 2014, at least three Uber drivers have been charged with sexual assault.
[ via Gawker]
