Police investigate report of Uber driver attempting to sexually assault a Syracuse University student

UPDATED: Sept. 30, 2017 at 2:02 p.m.

Local police are investigating a report that an Uber driver attempted to sexually assault a Syracuse University student near campus earlier this month.

Officials notified the victim’s parents of the incident at 3 a.m. sometime during the weekend of Sept. 16, a Facebook post said. The post was published in the “SU Orange Parents” group on Sept. 22 by Charlene Reese, an administrator of the “Syracuse University Parents 2021” group.

Reese posted the information on behalf of the parents, who preferred to remain anonymous.

“At this time, no criminal charges have been filed against the driver,” said Richard Helterline, a Syracuse Police Department spokesman, in a statement to The Daily Orange on Wednesday.

The SPD’s Abused Persons Unit is currently investigating the reported incident, Helterline said.

“What’s been described is deeply upsetting. We have removed the driver’s access to the app and we have been in touch with local authorities to offer any information that could be helpful in their investigation,” said Uber in a statement to The Daily Orange on Friday.

An Uber spokesperson confirmed the company does not have a record of the trip.

University crime logs show a sex offense was reported to the Department of Public Safety on Sept. 17 and turned over to SPD. The DPS case ID used in that incident is the same ID being used for SPD’s Uber driver investigation, Helterline said.

The sex offense was reported to DPS at 2:41 a.m. from Sadler Hall, at 1000 Irving Ave., crime logs show.

“My daughter was out with friends at a party and ended up taking an Uber home alone — not the best decision,” the Facebook post said. “Needless to say the driver didn’t take her back to her dorm but took her to a parking lot on the outskirts of campus.”

The driver, identified as male in the post, reached back and started touching the student “saying some pretty vile things to her,” according to the post.

Initially shocked, the student jumped out of the car and ran toward the residence halls, the post said. There, she filed a report with DPS. Police then used video camera footage to identify the vehicle she was in, per the post.

The student told police she wanted to press charges against her driver, according to the post.

“We are so grateful that nothing happened — because this could have ended very badly,” the post said.

Before touching the student, the driver cancelled the trip, erasing any trace of the ride, the Facebook post said. An Uber spokesperson, though, said that when a trip is cancelled, there is still a record of a ride.

The spokesperson said the student could have used a friend’s Uber account to get a ride or connected with the driver through an off-app “street hail,” resulting in no record of the trip.

A street hail occurs when an individual flags down a vehicle like a taxi cab. The company discourages street hails, the spokesperson said.

This post has been updated with proper attribution.

CLARIFICATION: This post has been updated with additional clarification on an Uber spokesperson’s response to the investigation.