Uber driver accused of sexual assault on South Carolina passenger

[Recursion]

Source: Reuters

A driver for the popular taxi-hailing service Uber faces sexual assault charges after a passenger reported that he attacked her instead of driving her home from a bar, authorities said on Wednesday.

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, according to Charleston County Jail records.

Both offenses are punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

An Uber spokeswoman said the company dropped Aiello after learning of the charges and is assisting authorities with their investigation.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/12/us-usa-uber-sexassault-idUSKCN0QH2ND20150812

[giftedgirl77]

1. Huh, I didn't know we had Uber down here.

Good to know.

[Recursion]

2. Yeah, the state legislature cleared them earlier this year

I think there aren't many cars yet, though

[giftedgirl77]

3. Well they're definitely not in my little podunk town then.

5 more years & my youngest will graduate from high school & I can move.

[jberryhill]

4. Was anyone ever raped by a taxi driver?

Hmmm... Googling "woman raped by taxi driver" gets a lot of results.

It would appear that any situation in which a woman is alone in a vehicle with a man she does not know, carries a measurable risk of sexual assault.

I've seen a few of these stories in which the primary thrust seems to be an implication that Uber has created this new phenomenon involving sexual assault by men against women when they are alone together in hired vehicles.

It led me to wonder whether why this does not happen with taxis.

Unfortunately, a simple search shows that it does happen with taxis. The main difference seems to be that since the taxis are not GPS tracked, then if the victim does not recall the cab company and vehicle number, it is much harder to find an identify the taxi driver.

[Recursion]

5. Not to mention that the attacker in this case is a teacher (nt)

[jberryhill]

6. A background check might have caught that

[left-of-center2012]

11. A background check might have caught that

Only if he'd been busted previously.

[jberryhill]

13. I meant it would have caught that the driver was a teacher

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

16. Not ALL teachers are rapists ...

... or maybe I'm missing the meaning behind a background check that would identify someone as a teacher. I'd guess driving for Uber is a second, part-time or occasional gig for many.

In this case, I hope there's a good investigation to determine that a rape was committed, or not.

[jberryhill]

17. But they are all teachers!

Look, I graduated from school a long time ago, in order to get away from them.

The last thing I would want, in simply getting a ride from A to B, would be for someone to teach me something when I wasn't expecting it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

19. It could be worse ...

... the teacher/driver could ask you to grade papers on the ride.

I've learned a bit from regular taxi drivers: from the good (where's a good cheap restaurant) to the bad (Obamacare will be the death of us), and much in between (here's what the Tigers need to do to get near the top)

[left-of-center2012]

21. I use Uber a lot

In fact I'm going out in one this morning. I find the drivers very nice, polite and friendly.

[Helen Borg]

8. 'any situation in which a woman is alone in a vehicle with a man she does not know"

... You can remove the vehicle part. And you can remove the "she does not know" part as well.

[jberryhill]

12. I was keying on the similarities between Uber and a Taxi

The "Uber driver did (insert terrible thing)" story gets posted a lot.

I'm not terribly fond of Uber, and I believe the various issues with it will eventually be sorted out.

But it seems that the "Uber driver did (insert terrible thing)" story gets posted frequently by those who are partisans of the Uber/Taxi debate, in the same way that &quot odious class of person) did (terrible thing)" story for similar reasons. By that I mean if you look at some internet forums you see the frequent posting of &quot Minority) did terrible thing" story, in order to make the point implicit in selection of those stories that (Minority) is a terrible group as a class.

The point is to prove that Uber, among whose gazillion drivers there is a statistical certainty that some number of them will do some awful thing, is somehow uniquely evil in some regard because an Uber driver did some awful thing.

[EL34x4]

22. Same thing happens with craigslist.

Newspapers hate craigslist. It's hurt classified advertising revenue. As such, when something bad happens to a person answering a craigslist ad, it's newsworthy. If something bad happens to a person answering a print ad, it isn't.

[Supersedeas]

23. they go hand in hand really

[deancr]

7. Licensed cabbies

When I did my stint as a cabbie in Ann Arbor, many years ago, the city had my photo and took fingerprints. Sure, there are criminal minds that will rape even knowing that they will be caught, but licensing with background checks seems a minimal preventative.
Uber gets government off the rapist's back entirely. Progress? Not so much.

[Red Knight]

9. I'd take a cab anyday

Uber just feels odd to me. I don't know what Uber goes through to clear drivers or what is involved so maybe it's my ignorance of that, but it feels really close to hitchhiking. The company is doing well, obviously. People seem to like it. Just not for me.

[Recursion]

10. Do teachers not get background checks and fingerprints?

The guy's day job is as a junior high teacher.

[Hoppy]

20. Depends on the district. I was charged $100. for the prints and background check.

(my record was clear.)

[jberryhill]

14. This doesn't happen with taxis?

As pointed out by Recursion, this person had a background check already, and was a teacher.

But I've seen nothing which indicates that Uber drivers are any more or less likely to engage in a crime against a passenger than taxi drivers.

A taxi driver is less likely to get caught than an Uber driver, because of the way the system logs locations, drivers and passengers.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/exclusive-brooklyn-woman-recounts-traumatic-rape-taxi-article-1.2101285
Brooklyn woman recounts traumatic rape, robbery in back of taxi

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Woman-Says-Omaha-Taxi-Driver-Raped-Her-In-Cab-306725421.html
Woman Says Omaha Taxi Driver Raped Her In Cab

https://www.google.com/search?q=woman+raped+by+taxi&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[AngryAmish]

15. Uber has background checks

Plus the app puts passenger and driver together, as in after the fact there is actual proof that the oassenger and driver were in the car together.

[jberryhill]

18. I have never made note of the taxi number or driver name...

...when using a taxi.

You're right, with Uber, that is all automatically tracked.

[ericson00]

24. Uber is everything wrong with the new economy

unlicensed, and unchecked drivers, exploiting underemployed people, this stuff is a sham.

[FLPanhandle]

27. Bullshit

Uber is great option for consumers and the drivers.

Much better and professional than most cab drivers.

I travel for work and I would get an Uber ride over a Taxi any day, any place.

[Recursion]

28. Cabs are worse

The drivers are even more exploited.

[we can do it]

25. Knew this was coming.

[Yavin4]

26. I had an idea of forming a women drivers only Uber option

An Uber customer can request a woman driver for safety.