VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A driver for hire with Uber has been arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger in the Bay Colony area of Virginia Beach.
According to police, it happened Saturday between the hours of 9:34 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Police say the suspect, 34-year-old Sewanou Bisile Yoro of Norfolk, picked the woman up and allegedly assaulted her during the encounter.
Yoro has been charged with abduction, rape and aggravated sexual battery.
News 3 spoke to a woman who has been neighbors with Yoro for several years. She said they would say hi and cut each other's grass. She was shocked by the accusations and stunned. She said she didn't know that he drove Uber.
An Uber representative told News 3 the victim also reported the alleged incident through the companies incident report line which operates 24/7.
Uber issued the following statement Tuesday:
"The type of conduct that has been described has no place on the app or anywhere. The driver has been banned from Uber and we will work with police to provide them with any information that would be useful in their investigation."
They also said they conduct background checks that are in compliance with Virginia law:
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter20/section46.2-2099.49/
Yoro remains locked up in the Virginia Beach Jail being held without bond. He is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing May 4th at 8:30am.
