Grand jury indicts Uber driver in sex assault of girl, 16
COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE DEPT.
Luke Wadahara: The Uber driver was found via social media.
A 24-year-old Uber driver was indicted by an Oahu grand jury Thursday for allegedly sexually attacking a 16-year-old girl.
Luke Wadahara was charged with two counts of first-degree sex assault and one count of first-degree attempted sex assault. His bail was set at $150,000.
He is expected to be arraigned in Circuit Court next week.
According to a police affidavit filed in District Court on Tuesday, the victim told police that she and her friends used their cellphones to request an Uber ride from Ala Moana Center on Saturday night. A black Dodge Charger with the personalized license plate “SEXI” arrived, with Wadahara as the driver, the affidavit said.
The suspect dropped off the girl’s friends in Mililani and then drove to Makiki with the victim, according to the affidavit.
The suspect detoured to a place in Makiki where he parked the car and sexually assaulted her several times, the affidavit said.
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Drivers for the online transportation network company are not licensed like taxicab drivers, but are subject to a background check and rider reviews. The Uber mobile app allows consumers with smartphones to submit trip requests, which are then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.
22 responses to “Grand jury indicts Uber driver in sex assault of girl, 16”
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What a strange situation.
Taxi companies are having a field day planning on how to play this up, use their paid-for politicians and milk for all its worth in their fearful fight against Uber/Lyft to protect their mafia ways here in little podunk Hawaii
He is no different from the cabbie convicted recently. This is good, abad Cab Driver and a bad Uber driver taken off the road!
Hmmmm
This guy’s life is ruined whether he did it or not. I hope the proof is very clear, one way or the other.
Agree. Let the evidence speak
Yes, innocent until proven guilty but doubt this young girl made up this story, especially when Uber drivers are tracked via GPS and it shows this Uber driver parked in an area not where this young girl wanted to be dropped off. Also this young girl probably had to recount her story she gave to the police to the grand jury and doubt she is going to make up an awful story of rape to strangers just for the “fun of it”.
For UBER, drivers and users must be registered with UBER to participate. Pretty safe set up because the system knows who the driver as well as the user will be as well as the destination, time and route is logged on computer.
He obviously didn’t care about the consequences.
“Drivers for the online transportation network company are not licensed like taxicab drivers. ” Why does the SA keep repeating this? This has no bearing on the crime. Just recently there was a taxi driver convicted of some heinous sex crimes. SA again trying to influence politics as usual.
Let’s see how much of SA holdings are invested in local cab companies
It usually in the amount of advertisement these special interest pay to SA. Advertising in SA is super expensive and HART, union and others pay big $$$ to SA. In return SA editorials and stories like this Uber driver which should be non-political or opinionated is slanted toward the money.
His license plate and mug shot do not correlate.
Maybe it was describing his car.
Criminals thrive on opportunity.
Are Uber cars reliable insofar as pickup time? Do they charge extra for baggage?
Instead of breastfeeding in public or humanizing the homeless how’s about real legislation legalizing castration.
That might deter some of the predators out there….
Just like a death penalty has deterred people killing each other?
Will putting him on a raft without food , clothing and shelter out in the middle of the ocean be too lenient a punishment?
If it’s true that another woman reported this guy to Uber twice prior to the rape of the 16 yr. old girl, Uber is going to get sued for big money. I hope this guy gets some of his own medicine in OCCC.
HNN showed on its 10 o’clock news on Friday that Uber drivers are prohibited from accepting passengers under 18 years of age unless accompanied by an adult. Camera rolling when 2 girls, 15 and 16 years old call for an Uber driver. One drives up and the reporter asks him if he knows he’s supposed to ask their age before accepting them as passengers. Said he does, then asks them and finds out they are not 18, then, tells them he cannot take them. They call for another Uber driver, they tell him they’re in high school and he takes them. Even buys them food from McDonald’s. Be careful out there, kids.