A phony rideshare driver accused of raping a woman he picked up at Miami International Airport has been arrested, police said.
Fernando Avila Hernandez, 28, was arrested Wednesday on sexual battery and battery charges, an arrest affidavit said.
The affidavit said the 28-year-old victim had just arrived at the airport from Salt Lake City and was trying to get a taxi when she was approached by Hernandez, who was soliciting passengers as a rideshare driver.
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The woman, who is originally from Colombia, got into the back of Hernandez's SUV and said she needed a ride to a hotel in Miramar, the affidavit said.
At one point, Hernandez asked her to get in the front seat to help with directions, the affidavit said.
"She stated she did not think anything of it because since Uber is not officially allowed in Colombia, Uber drivers sit their passengers in the front so as to not alert authorities," the affidavit said.
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Hernandez told the woman she was very pretty and offered to take her to his house, but she again asked to be taken to a hotel, the report said.
As they were arriving at the hotel, Hernandez asked for payment and the woman offered to pay with a credit card, but he told her he only takes cash and that she could pay in another way, the affidavit said.
Hernandez offered to pay her $500 for sex, but she told him she is not a prostitute, the affidavit said. He then told her the ride would cost $300, but she said she didn't have that much money, the affidavit said.
Hernandez drove past the hotel and went to a shopping plaza in the 3400 block of Red Road, where he parked behind a restaurant, the affidavit said.
Hernandez told the woman to get in the back seat before he got in the back seat and sexually battered her, the affidavit said.
Afterwards, he drove her to a hotel and left, and the woman reported the alleged incident to hotel staff who called police.
Detectives retrieved surveillance video from the airport, the area where the alleged battery happened and the hotel, and a detective recognized the suspect in the video as Hernandez, who he had arrested in an unrelated incident, the affidavit said.
The victim later identified Hernandez in a police lineup, and Hernandez was also on a list of people who solicit customers by posing as Uber drivers and taxi drivers at the airport, the affidavit said.
Uber said in a statement to NBC 6 that the suspect used to be a driver but hasn't been on the platform for more than a year.
Hernandez was booked into the Broward County jail, where he was being held without bond Wednesday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
