This story was updated on 5/21/2015 at 3:20 p.m. with information from court documents on the case.
In a recent email decrying Burlington’s inability to supervise its taxi industry, the staff person in charge of licensing cabs asked city officials a question: “Does somebody need to get hurt in order for this to become a priority?”
According to the police, someone already has been hurt. The Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations announced Wednesday evening that it arrested a man who drives for the ride-share company Uber, charging him with sexual assault of a passenger. The driver also had a license from the city to drive taxis.
CUSI alleges that early in the morning of February 1, Omar Nassir, 23, sexually assaulted his female passenger.
In court today, he pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct.
According to a police affidavit, the alleged victim’s roommate called police around 4 a.m. on February 1. The 22-year-old passenger told police that Nassir had requested sexual acts and exposed himself to her. She was intoxicated and said her memory of the ride was spotty.
When a detective tried to contact Nassir on March 27, he told police via email he was in Kenya and would get in touch upon his return. On May 18, he showed up at the Burlington police department for questioning. Initially he denied having any contact with the alleged victim but he later — after being told, falsely, that police had DNA evidence — admitted that they had started to have sex, and cut short when she “flipped out on him.” He claimed that she initiated the encounter.
The police subpoenaed GPS coordinates from Uber that showed Nassir drove the passenger in what amounted to a circle. Before he dropped her at her residence, the GPS stopped emitting a signal for 30 minutes.
In a story published Wednesday, Seven Days examined gaps in the city’s oversight of taxis. It noted that in some circumstances, getting a city license may be easier than meeting the requirements to drive for Uber. In this case, Nassir had been cleared to drive by both Uber and the city.
Uber emailed the following statement: “This was a horrific incident and upon learning of it in February, we immediately removed the driver from the Uber platform. We have been in touch with the rider to support her during this difficult time, and have been working closely with the authorities throughout their investigation.”
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Of course it is solely the fault of the driver and he should be prosecuted if during the incident the alleged victim passed out and the suspect forced himself on her. But If she got drunk (which everyone knows lowers inhibitions) and mutually partook in a sexual liaison until the alcohol began to wear off and when, as he reportedly stated, he acceded to her wishes to desist, then all this is is a regrettable occurrence that could have been avoided had so much alcohol not been consumed. That the driver used the Uber platform is irrelevant- even though it appears that city officials in their ever present attempt to justify expanding their own functions are manipulating the event as raison d’être to tighten their stranglehold on ride-share transactions in Burlington by insisting that they conform to regulations designed for taxi service.
But riding Uber is markedly different than hailing a taxi cab. Driver and passenger are significantly less remote from each other in an Uber ride. Passenger and driver both have an aggregate value of their respective histories before consenting to engage in a wholly personal agreement. They also have the opportunity to discuss the venture before it actually occurs. This is significantly different that the experience created by the government-mandated policies that regulate taxi cabs. This is the independence and liberty of free-will made possible by advances in technology. It is no small wonder that those who have made it their business to control this aspect of our lives are unwilling to give their fiefdom irrespective of the inefficiencies that they bring to it.
Why the misleading title??? Shouldn’t the title have read “Kuddos Uber” or “Taxi Driver who has been preying on drunk women finally caught after raping again as an Uber Driver”???.
It is only because of the complete accountability inherent in the Uber format that this criminal was caught. If he were still in his taxi, nobody would have been able to prove a pickup point, rider in the car, route taken, stand still times, dropoff; Nothing. Thank God she was in an uber, so he had some awareness that he was being tracked… Because if he were still in his taxi when she “freaked out”, his next step may have been far worse than driving here home. And no one would ever have known he was involved. The basic idea that a person can get in a taxi, without any sort of verification of pickup, route, dropoff, scares the hell out of me!!! I cannot believe it went on for so long. I am glad this creep is off the roads. Kuddos Uber.