Fredrick Gaston, a 51-year-old Uber driver near Miami, raped a 26-year-old female passenger who had too much to drink and hailed for a ride in a September 2017 incident. Gaston admitted to his actions and called it a “perk” of the job, according to a recent report from the Miami New Times.
According to MNT, the woman told police that she was “too terrified and intoxicated” to defend herself against Gaston who assaulted her on the ride home after first dropping off a male friend. Once at her destination, Gaston parked the car and continued to assault her. She soon flagged down a neighbor to call the police, and responding officer Anthony Murphy claimed the victim was “sitting on the stairs crying hysterically, asking for help.” Murphy says, “She just kept repeating, ‘I’ve been raped’ over and over.”
Gaston was not located by police until December 2017 when he gave his confession; he was arrested immediately after. Law enforcement officers say that the 51-year-old typically preyed on younger women in the Wynwood area and was reportedly bragging to officers about his lewd practices, saying he gets “a lot of p*ssy.”
“We had sex, and it was good sex,” Gaston admitted, according to Special Victims Detective Michelle Farinas’ deposition, per MNT.
A criminal case has been brought on Gaston as well as a lawsuit against him and Uber.
“What’s been reported is deplorable and something no one should ever go through,” a spokeswoman for Uber told HuffPost. “The individual’s access to the app was removed.”
Gaston will face trial on Oct. 29 as he is being charged with felonious sexual battery on a physically incapacitated victim.
More than 120 Uber and Lyft drivers had been accused of sexual assault as of May 2018. Ongoing issues with the criminal activity have forced both ride-hailing companies to reconfigure their ethics codes and place a stronger emphasis on background checks of their drivers.