Blonde Teen Is Never Taking Uber Again
Teen girl says she was traumatized after escaping declared Uber kidnapping
The young girl says the incident has left her in a abiding land of fear.
A young daughter who was allegedly kidnapped past her Uber driver over the summertime says the incident has left her in a constant land of fear, so much and then that she says she's afraid to use ride-hailing services e'er again.
The fifteen-year-old and her attorneys, Rosemonde Cely and Lorna Lightfoot-Ware, saturday down with ABC News for an interview which aired Th on "Good Morning America."
"It'south affected my school life, my friends, my family," she said. "Information technology's had such a negative impact on me. Everywhere I go, I experience scared because I'm and then much more aware of my surround now."
The Long Island teenager said she used to have Uber rides on a regular basis before the traumatizing run into on July 12, when Sean Williams, a 32-twelvemonth-sometime Uber driver from Brooklyn, allegedly tried to force her to go to his home "where he intended to sexually assail her," according to the Nassau Canton Commune Attorney's Part.
The teen, whom ABC News is non naming considering she is a modest, requested a ride home from a Sweetness 16 party in Atlantic Beach, New York, which is most 15 miles away from her home in Merrick, but Williams allegedly canceled the route and tried to convince the girl to go drinking with him instead, prosecutors said.
The teen said she told Williams her historic period and repeatedly asked that he take her dwelling house, just he allegedly refused and continued driving w, in the incorrect management. He also forced her to sit in the front seat, which fabricated it hard for her to use her telephone to phone call for help, she said.
"Information technology's hard for me to open up and, like, trust people now because I put trust in that I would be able to get home safely. And I was non able to get domicile safely that night," she told "GMA." "He kept asking me, like, if I wanted to go out for drinks with him one-time. And I said, 'No, 'cause I'g xv. I tin't become out to drinks. And, similar, I just want to get home.' But he kept, you know, insisting on that."
She figured out a way to escape once they arrived in Brooklyn, authorities said. The teen told the driver she needed a bathroom, and when he pulled over, she ran into a McDonald's and called police, prosecutors said.
Williams allegedly followed her into the McDonald's just fled before police force arrived, prosecutors said. He was arrested four days subsequently and charged with 2d-degree kidnapping, 2d-degree kidnapping every bit a sexually motivated felony, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawful imprisonment. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in late August and was later released on $150,000 bail, according to his attorney.
"My client adamantly denies doing anything of any nature that tin can be construed equally criminal," his defense attorney, Steven Gaitman, told ABC News. "The facts and circumstances as declared leave much to be debated at trial, which my client is looking frontwards to."
A spokesperson for Uber said the company is cooperating with government as they investigate the case.
"What has been reported is deeply alarming and the driver's access to the app was immediately removed when nosotros learned about the incident," the spokesperson told ABC News. "Nosotros continue to cooperate with law enforcement on their case."
Uber riders can share their trip with loved ones and then it can be tracked and monitored -- a safety feature which the visitor notes says is not available when taking other forms of transportation, such as a taxi. Uber terms, which drivers and riders agree to, state that anyone under xviii must be accompanied past an adult to ride with Uber, and account holders must be over eighteen, co-ordinate to the visitor.
Despite those terms, in this case, the female parent ordered the Uber for her 15-year-old daughter to go to the outcome and, afterwards that evening, told her to gild one dwelling house and so she could track the trip, according to Uber.
Earlier this year, the San Francisco-based company launched an awareness entrada called "From Automobile Seat to College," which aims to "proactively educate families on safety with Uber." As part of the campaign, the company says it is collaborating with the National Parent Teacher Association to evangelize important safety tips and data to families across the United States and so they know how to utilise the app appropriately and to assistance them have a condom experience when using the app with family unit.
The young girl'south family called the example a scary reminder of how dangerous ride-hailing can be. Her aunt signaled that she was aware of the waves of sexual assail allegations plaguing the ride-sharing industry, but she never imagined that the upshot would hit and then close to dwelling house.
"I don't take Uber now whatever longer. Even on business organisation trips, I won't take an Uber now any longer and I certainly wouldn't suggest her to do it," her aunt said. "I've given the aforementioned advice to my coworkers and I would not put myself in that position, just because there's no guarantee that you lot're going to be prophylactic."
As for the victim, she said she wants her story to serve as a alert for people who use ride-sharing services without existence mindful of the risks. If possible, she said, information technology's better to hitch a ride with someone you know.
"I recall parents should be monitoring their kids more and becoming more aware," the teenager said. "I recall they should be more wary [considering] this tin can happen to y'all. This tin can happen to your kids."
ABC News' Linsey Davis and Kieran McGirl contributed to this report.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-girl-traumatized-escaping-alleged-uber-kidnapping/story?id=66490221
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