56-year-old Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting woman in The Woodlands area

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (KTRK) -- A rideshare driver is accused of sexually assaulting one of his passengers in Montgomery County earlier this week, and detectives believe there could be more victims.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said 56-year-old Janaka Manatunga, from Conroe, has been charged and booked into the county jail.

On April 28, Manatunga was allegedly involved in the sexual assault of a woman near Market Street in The Woodlands.

Court documents obtained by ABC13 reveal the woman said she was out with friends, and just before 11 p.m., she was ready to call it a night.

According to the complaint, she says she ordered an Uber to take her back to her car.

Once she arrived at the parking garage, she said Manatunga "insisted on walking her to her car because he believed she was too intoxicated." The victim said that on the way, "he held her hand, and made inappropriate comments, including saying she made him hot."

The rest is too graphic to detail -- but that's when the victim said Manatunga sexually assaulted her, only stopping once she told him she thought she saw law enforcement.

Deputies said the entire situation was captured on surveillance video.

They said once they interviewed Manatunga, he told law enforcement he walked the victim to her car to help because she could not find her car.

But once detectives revealed everything was captured on camera, they said, "(Manatunga) then stated that (the victim) then asked him to perform sexual acts on her."

MCSO said the ongoing investigation raised concerns that there may be additional victims who experienced inappropriate sexual contact while using Manatunga's rideshare services.

ABC13 reached out to Uber for comment and received the following statement from a spokesperson:

"The driver's behavior is completely unacceptable and has no place on our platform. We take reports of this nature very seriously, and we banned the driver's access to the platform as soon as we were made aware. Our dedicated team is standing by to fully cooperate with law enforcement in their investigation."

Officials are asking anyone who may have experienced similar sexual contact with Manatunga to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Violent Crimes Division at 936-760-5876 and refer to case #25A125275.

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