New York Uber Driver Charged With Kidnapping Female Passenger

A driver for Uber was charged Tuesday with kidnapping a 24-year-old New York

A driver for Uber was charged Tuesday with kidnapping a 24-year-old New York woman.

Prosecutors said the victim, who has not been named, was riding with New York Uber driver Habir Parmar in February when she fell asleep in his vehicle. When she awoke, Pamar’s car was allegedly on the side of the road and his hand was under her shirt, the Journal News reported.

“As alleged, Harbir Parmar was hired to transport a woman from Manhattan to her home in White Plains,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. “Instead, Parmar kidnapped, terrorized and assaulted the woman before dumping her on the side of an interstate. No one ― man or woman ― should fear such an attack when they simply hire a car service.”

Parmar allegedly left her on the side of the interstate in Connecticut after the assault. He now faces a federal charge of kidnapping. He also faces a federal charge of wire fraud stemming from incidents in which he allegedly sent false information about the destination of Uber customers on nearly a dozen occasions over the course of more than a year, according to the Journal News.

In a statement to HuffPost, Uber said Parmar was immediately blocked from using the platform in February when the allegations first surfaced.

“What’s been reported is horrible and something no person should go through,” a spokesperson for Uber said. “As soon as we became aware, we immediately removed this individual’s access to the platform. We have fully cooperated with law enforcement and will continue to support their investigation.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that 51-year-old former Uber driver Frederick Gaston told investigators that his rape of a 26-year-old woman in 2017 was “good sex” and a “perk” of the job.

“We had sex, and it was good sex,” Gaston said, according to Special Victims Det. Michelle Farinas’ deposition, obtained by the Miami New Times.

In September, a Florida woman jumped out of her Uber driver’s window after she realized 30-year-old Destiny Green was not driving to her destination.

“I went into survival mode so quick,” Brooke Adkins, 19, told WFLA at the time. “I was far. Like, I got 25 to 30 minutes away. I’m like, ‘Where are you taking me?’”

And a CNN investigation found in April that at least 103 Uber drivers in the U.S. have been accused of sexual assault or abuse of passengers in the past four years.

Parmar’s kidnapping charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.