Driver Charged With Assulting Uber Passenger in Chicago

A driver in Chicago has been charged with sexually assaulting an Uber passenger who passed out in his vehicle.

Maxime Fohounhedo, 20, took the passenger back to his home and then assaulted her on his sofa, said Steve Campbell, a spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Chicago.

 "The defendant helped the victim out of the apartment after the incident and drove her home," Campbell said, according to Bloomberg. "She contacted the police and hospital."

Fohounhedo, who lives in Chicago, supposedly asked the passenger to move to front seat of the vehicle he was driving because he wasn't sure of her address, Campbell said. The intoxicated woman passed out and later woke up to find him on top of her in his living room.

The incident is yet another issue for the San Francisco-based company, which has snowballed in recent weeks due to regulatory roadblocks, dangerous driving and sexual assault claims.

Uber said last month that it was in the middle of assessing its safety programs to improve rides for its passengers.

Uber spokeswoman Jennifer Mullin said the accused driver doesn't have an account with the company and that he was fraudulently using his wife's account at the time of the supposed attack, according to Bloomberg.

"Account sharing is expressly prohibited on the Uber platform," Mullin said in a statement about the issue. "All details regarding this fraud and Mr. Fohounhedo's illegal activities have been shared with the Chicago Police Department and Uber will continue cooperating with the authorities."

A lawyer for Fohounhedo has not commented about the incident yet.

Earlier this month, a driver in New Delhi was accused of raping a woman who fell asleep in his car and a Boston man was accused of assaulting a woman after asking her to pay in cash.

The U.S. startup company has been sued all over the country, including by officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, over claims it makes false assurances regarding driver background checks or violates local laws.

Uber was banned in Spain and Rio de Janeiro after declaring the app-based service illegal. Its UberPop service was banned in the Netherlands recently as well.