A 32-year-old Foster City man who worked as a ride-hailing driver is behind bars after San Jose police say he sexually assaulted a juvenile male passenger during a trip through downtown San Jose. Detectives believe there could be additional victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
According to NBC Bay Area, San Jose police announced the arrest of Anuj Kumar after investigating a reported assault that happened one evening along the 100 block of Paseo de San Antonio, a stretch of downtown San Jose known for heavy foot traffic near San Jose State University. The area is a common spot for rideshare pickups and drop-offs, according to Local News Matters. The juvenile male survivor had been riding in a ride-booking vehicle at the time of the alleged assault, and the incident was reported to police later that same night.
Cameras Led Police to a Suspect
Investigators turned to San Jose's network of automated license plate reader cameras to track down the vehicle involved, according to the station's report. The technology, supplied in part by systems like those from Flock Safety, captures images of passing vehicles and feeds a searchable database that lets detectives trace a suspect car's movements across city intersections, per shattered.io. That trail led authorities to identify Kumar as the suspect.
Kumar was arrested in Foster City on September 13 and booked into jail on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor, the outlet reported. Detectives with San Jose police believe there may be additional victims connected to Kumar and are urging anyone with information about this case or similar incidents to contact Detective Hoang by email at [email protected] or by phone at 408-277-4102.
Scrutiny Already Surrounds SJPD's Camera Network
The department's reliance on license plate readers comes as San Jose faces its own reckoning over how officers use the technology. San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph disclosed earlier in September that an SJPD officer was fired after misusing the city's Flock ALPR system on a personal device to track a domestic violence victim, according to shattered.io, prompting the department to bar officers from accessing ALPR data on personal devices altogether. Civil rights groups including the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have separately pushed back against San Jose's camera network, arguing in a federal lawsuit that continuous municipal vehicle tracking raises constitutional privacy concerns.
What California Law Requires of Rideshare Drivers
California law imposes strict screening requirements on rideshare companies operating drivers like Kumar. Under state Public Utilities Code Section 5445.2, the California Public Utilities Commission requires transportation network companies to run annual criminal background checks through accredited screening agencies and check the U.S. Department of Justice's National Sex Offender Public Website before drivers can carry passengers. A separate statute, Public Utilities Code Section 5444, requires rideshare platforms to enroll in the California DMV's Employer Pull Notice program, which flags traffic convictions, license suspensions, or other driving record changes for active drivers.
Major platforms such as Uber also restrict unaccompanied minors from booking standard rides alone, instead steering them toward products like Uber Teens, which include PIN verification, real-time trip tracking, and audio recording.
Mandatory Prison Time If Convicted
If Kumar is convicted, California law leaves little room for leniency. Under Penal Code Section 1203.065, felony sexual assault offenses against minors carry mandatory state prison sentences, and judges are barred from granting probation or community supervision in place of incarceration, according to the Miranda Rights Law Firm.
The case echoes a similar one out of Maryland, where Hoodline reported that Montgomery County authorities arrested rideshare driver Abdoulaye Dia earlier this month on allegations of raping and kidnapping a teenage passenger, and likewise appealed to the public for additional potential victims. Detective Hoang's outreach to the San Jose community follows that same pattern, as investigators try to determine whether Kumar's alleged conduct extended beyond the one reported incident.
