A Miami Uber driver with a lengthy criminal past has been arrested again after he was accused of trying to sexually assault a female passenger who fell asleep in his vehicle, police said.
Emilio Lazaro Victores, 45, was arrested Thursday in North Miami Beach on an attempted sexual battery of a helpless victim charge, according to an arrest report.
According to the report, the victim, who was on vacation from South Carolina, told investigators she was picked up by Victores on March 16 when she requested an Uber pool ride. She was picked up in North Miami Beach and asked to be dropped off in Biscayne Park.
The woman initially sat in the back seat but moved to the front passenger seat when the driver picked up three other people, the report said. The woman said she fell asleep and when she woke up, Victores was on top of her, kissing her, the report said.
The woman yelled "stop, get off me!" and Victores apologized and got off her, the report said. The woman then realized that her pants were pulled down to her ankles and her bikini bottom was pulled to the side, the report said.
She also realized that Victores' pants were unbuttoned and his genitals were sticking out above his underwear, the report said.
The woman said the vehicle was on the side of the road in an unknown location, and she demanded that Victores take her back to where he had picked her up and he complied, the report said.
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Victores went to the North Miami Beach Police Department on Thursday and consented to a DNA swab, the report said. Victores told investigators he ended the Uber ride in Miami Beach but took the victim to Biscayne Park at no charge, the report said. He also admitted to stopping the vehicle on the side of the road but said he did it to check the tires, the report said.
Victores was booked into jail and was being held on $25,000 bond Friday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
"What’s been described is deeply upsetting and our thoughts are with the rider during this difficult time. The driver’s access to the app was removed as soon as it was reported to us," Uber said in a statement.
Florida Department of Corrections records showed Victores was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2002 in an aggravated battery case. He was also given six years in prison in 1995 on charges including aggravated assault and robbery, records showed.
According to Florida law, a person with a felony conviction, as long as it does not land them on the sex offender registry, can be a driver for Uber if they were convicted more than five years ago.
