Cops: Fake Ride-Share Driver Raped Woman, Took Her Home

Suspect was recorded by her door cam
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 4, 2019 9:15 AM CDT

As Samantha Josephson's death in South Carolina continues to grab headlines, authorities in Washington state are advising rise-share users to confirm vehicle and driver information after a woman was allegedly raped by a man posing as her driver in Seattle. The woman had encountered multiple ride-share vehicles after leaving a bar to catch a ride ordered by a friend after midnight on Dec. 16. She began asking which was her ride, and that's when a man told her, "Oh yeah I'm your ride-share, go ahead and get in," King County Sgt. Ryan Abbott tells Q13 News. The man drove off, stopping in White Center. Abbott says he raped the woman there, then took her home. A surveillance video shows him pulling her keys from his pocket, unlocking the door, and handing over a cellphone.

Police say a 34-year-old male turned himself in Wednesday after one of his family members viewed the footage, per KING 5. He was arrested "at his attorney's office and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of rape," according to the King County Sheriff's Office. Abbott advises ride-share users to "make sure that you're paying attention to the person you're looking for and the vehicle you're supposed to get into," and confirm the license plate. He notes "there's been other instances where child lock safety has been on in the backseat, so something horrible might happen and the victim can't get out." (That's reportedly what happened to Josephson.)

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