A woman who claims she was raped by an Uber driver is suing him and the ride-sharing company.
KHOU sister station KENS 5 talked to Jeff Wigington, the attorney representing the woman who wants to remain anonymous. He said that she wanted to come forward and file the lawsuit to prevent future attacks.
"She's very traumatized and she's very scared. It took a lot of courage on her part to come forward because it's hard to do. It's hard to speak out when something like this happens. Obviously, it has completely changed her life and the way that she interacts with people and thinks about things, thinks about her own safety," Wigington said. "If there are other victims out there, she wants their voices to be heard as well. This is the only way she feels like she can make a difference to keep this from happening to another unsuspecting victim like herself."
According to the arrest affidavit, 29-year-old Juan Ontiveros picked up the woman downtown February 25th, 2017. Ontiveros told police that he drove her to the requested destination on the east side of San Antonio. By the time they had arrived, the victim had passed out in the back of Ontiveros's car. He said he that drove around the block several times waiting for her to wake up. When she wouldn't, he drove her to his house 30 miles away.
Ontiveros told police that he intended to drop her off at a safe place so he could get back to work. Ontiveros admitted that he planned to keep her ride open on the app to try and increase the final cost of her trip.
He said that the woman fell asleep in his bed, woke up again, used the bathroom, and then asked to be driven back home.
The woman told police that she believed she was sexually assaulted at his residence but Ontiveros denied it. They both agreed to a physical exam and the exam concluded that the woman's DNA was found on him.
He was arrested and charged with sexual assault.
Wigington relayed that his client feels the ride-sharing company did not do enough to protect her. She said that Uber should create an alert system on its app as a safeguard.
"We think if the driver deviates from his route, you should get a warning. As a customer, you should get a warning, Uber should get a warning, the authorities should get a warning, especially if it's a deviation like this that's so obvious," Wigington said.
Also, the woman wants the ride-sharing company to enforce stricter background checks and to review a driver's entire criminal history.
"It only took us about five minutes to do a PublicData.com search, and that search indicated that he did have a previous assault charge in 2006. It's our understanding that that type of search Uber would do with one of its drivers goes only back seven years,” Wigington said. “We don't think that makes any sense.”
Uber declined to comment on the lawsuit. A spokesperson sent us a statement from October 2017 when Ontiveros was arrested. It stated:
"What's been reported is horrible and is something that no one should have to go through. As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed this driver's access and worked with Bexar County Sheriff's Office to provide information for their investigation.”
To read the full lawsuit, click here or read below:
Uber Lawsuit by KENS 5 on Scribd