An Uber driver in Austin has been charged with the sexual assault of a passenger after an incident that occurred earlier this year, police reports say. The driver, Victor Manuel Legon Frias, age 38, allegedly assaulted a 28-year-old woman who had booked a ride to visit a friend after a night out drinking. According to the victim's statement to the police, she fell asleep in the car and awoke to find herself being assaulted by Legon Frias, as CBS Austin reported.
The victim managed to escape the vehicle and immediately contacted the Uber emergency line and, her friend. Surveillance video timestamped around 3:07 a.m. confirmed the victim entering the Uber vehicle. When the friend, who she was supposed to meet, arrived and confronted the driver, Frias drove away from the scene. Police later found the vehicle at Legon Frias' residence and seized it for further investigation according to FOX 7 Austin.
During questioning, Legon Frias presented conflicting accounts of the events that took place on May 4th. He admitted to the police that he had lied to his wife about having a scheduled pickup when in actuality he was on his way home after the incident. Despite acknowledging that the victim was "inebriated", Legon Frias denied the assault, claiming the victim had made advances toward him.
In response to the allegations, Uber has taken immediate action. "This monstrous behavior has no place in our society or on the Uber platform," the company stated. They further expressed, "We treat reports like this with the utmost seriousness, and immediately removed the driver’s access to the platform as soon as we were made aware." Uber emphasized its commitment to safety, highlighting that it has been cooperating with law enforcement to aid in their investigation and, that the Safety Incident Reporting line is available for riders and drivers to report any incidents. The statement was detailed in reports from CBS Austin.
Following his arrest in August for the May incident, Legon Frias was charged with second-degree sexual assault and was released on bond. The case continues to develop as investigations proceed.
