Oahu Uber driver charged with alleged sex assault of passenger
COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE DEPT.
Luke Wadahara was arrested on Sunday on three counts of first-degree sex assault.
Social media helped a sex assault victim find her alleged assailant— an Uber driver — whose information she was then able to turn over to the police, according to court documents.
A preliminary hearing will be held in District Court Thursday for Luke Wadahara, who was arrested Sunday on three counts of first-degree sexual assault for allegedly attacking a 16-year-old girl Sunday whom he picked up while working as an Uber driver. His bail was set at $150,000.
Uber drivers for the online transportation network company are not licensed like taxicab drivers. The Uber mobile app allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request, which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.
Proposals to regulate transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft are now pending before the state Legislature and Honolulu City Council.
Supporters of regulation say Uber and Lyft drivers might not be covered by insurance for accidents and injuries depending on whether a passenger is in the car. One proposed bill would set rules for insurance requirements for transportation network companies and their drivers.
The Honolulu City Council is also considering a proposal to treat transportation network companies like taxis, but opponents say it could drive companies like Uber and Lyft out of the state.
According to a police affidavit filed in District Court Tuesday, the victim told police that she and her friends hailed an Uber ride using their smartphones from Ala Moana Center Saturday night.
A black Dodge Charger with the personalized license plate “SEXI” arrived, with the Wadahara as the driver, the statement said.
The suspect drove the girls to Mililani first and then proceeded to drive to Makiki. During the ride, Wadahara asked if the victim was single.
The victim also told the suspect that she was not interested in him, the statement said.
The police statement said the suspect detoured to a place in Makiki where he parked his car before he sexually assaulted her several times.
The victim was able to free herself and ran home, where she and her mother found the suspect’s profile on the Uber profile page, and also on Facebook. She turned his name and photo over to police.
The suspect was located early Sunday morning and arrested at his Kapiolani area apartment.
33 responses to “Oahu Uber driver charged with alleged sex assault of passenger”
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What a world we live in. You go to the market and you might get stabbed. You are Hawaiian but your community is divided. You call for an uber car and a sex license plate shows up. Where is the aloha in all of this.
In the picture……is that what an UBER looks like?
More like a GUBER.
Don’t trust Uber drivers. This is not the first case nor the last. Call for Uber and you just never know who shows up.
Lokela, your focus on Uber is misdirected. It may surprise you to know that there have been hundreds of cases of sexual assaults, robberies and even murder committed by taxi drivers in this state long before Uber came along. Who do you blame for that?
This is true.
No use taxi or uber if your safety may be at risk. Take the Rail that cost too much. Oh no, forget that. Crazies going be riding the rail and you might be forced to be abused at over 40 feet above the existing highways.
You are right. Predators everywhere.
There was a recent case where a taxi driver in red cab going around picking up intoxiated women and assaulting them . He was convicted of his crime.
Sexi looking buggah! He’ll get a lot of action in prison.
kind stupid to use this as a mode of transportation. just like hitch hiking.
Why do people use these Uber rides? It appears that they cost more than taxis and much more than taking the Bus. In addition, there seems to be insurance questions and creepy drivers. Taxi drivers aren’t perfect but the Bus is almost 100% safe.
I’ve used Uber and Lyft many times and I’ve found the service better and the price lower than taxis. If this guy actually assaulted the girl I think him being an Uber driver made it easier for him to get caught. All of the driver’s information is available to the passenger as part of the service. At the end of each ride you’re asked to rate the driver and the driver rates the customer. Bad drivers and bad customers are identifiable.
Good point. Very difficult for Uber drivers with criminal intentions to avoid getting caught. Uber can help itself by requiring criminal and financial background checks on all of its drivers and providing up to date photos of their drivers and their cars that must be confirmed by Uber that the pictures the drivers submit are accurate and recent.
He look like one spoiled Japany kid from pearl city ! Lmao! Get all kind massage parlors out there!
And he probably makes more money than you!
Naw! He looks more like the Punahou/Iolani kids hanging out at Kahala Mall. How do you like that, yuppie Eastsiders.
Did the creep think he wouldn’t get caught? Bubba is going to have fun with him in prison.
Hey, I’m not in prison!
lol
It’ll take a year before the state Legislature and Honolulu City Council ever come to an agreement.
At least.
this is written like a smear on Uber. What does an Uber driver’s auto insurance policy have to do with this story?
As for using “social media” to track down the driver, Uber isn’t like a cab. You know who is coming to pick up you up along with a photo before you ever get into the car and there is a digital record of trip and driver. It’s not like a taxi cab were you get in some stranger’s car because it’s painted yellow and then pay in cash “because his credit card machine is broken.”
Must be so, as this sh-t got caught so easily. The victim did all the police work! Good for her, smart girl!
Looking up who your Uber driver was doesn’t take much of an IQ. That’s only one reason why this story, taken at face value, feels a little unsettling. The illogical order the girls were dropped off is one issue. And sure, a sexual predator has to start his career in crime somewhere and sometime, but why do it in such a traceable way with a sober victim accompanied by friends? If he is guilty as charged, then Wadahara makes the “Remember me, I’m the red cab” guy a genius-level master criminal. Maybe we’ll be granted future details that will make sense of it all. I’ll concede that Wadahara may not be the first person caught due to overconfidence.
True
“The Honolulu City Council is also considering a proposal to treat transportation network companies like taxis, but opponents say it could drive companies like Uber and Lyft out of the state.”
So what is bad about a company that doesn’t follow the rules leaving Hawaii? Isn’t that the whole point?
You must be a taxi driver…..Uber and Lyft has good service!
ricekidd, make sure you post when you get screwed in any way by an Uber/Lyft driver. Also, if a taxi driver does something wrong, the company’s insurance backs up the driver’s insurance. Uber/Lyft won’t back up their drivers, because drivers are independent contractors.
Another example is AirBnB which doesn’t care if their transient providers are legally licensed or not. All they care about is money. They are proposing hiding identities of the rental owners so the State and City have a harder time identifying them. Of course, city bureaucrats aren’t trying very hard to find illegal operators. The state tax people just want their taxes, whether it’s illegally earned or not.
bad ones make good drivers look the same…. I hope he get S.Assult on him while waiting in jail..
There is way more to this story. Why didn’t the girl get dropped first since she lived in Makiki and they were at Ala Moana SC? To go for a ride all the way to Mililani, and then back by herself to Makiki? Nah, something else went down. Not saying this fool is not a loser, but there is more.
Then the Millani girl would’ve gotten raped.
This is why background checks, liability insurance, etc. are needed for Uber/Lyft services. These protections are needed by any public carrier. If Uber/Lyft cannot operate with these requirements, then they should close up and go back to the mainland.