Houston woman sues rideshare app for alleged sexual assault during ride: 'Uber must make this safe'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston woman is suing Uber after she said she was sexually assaulted by her driver during a ride.

The 21-year-old woman, who filed the civil lawsuit as Jane Doe, was headed home after a night out with friends on Sept. 18 at about 2:30 a.m. and was drunk, according to the suit. The woman became sick in the Uber, and she said the driver pulled the car over. She told Houston police the same day that the man touched her breast.

The department said they are investigating the case. No charges have been filed.

The woman filed a sexual assault report with Uber, but her attorney, Bret Stanley with the Kherkher Garcia Lawfirm, said she has not heard if the driver was removed from their pool of drivers.

According to a safety report published by the company, Uber immediately removes an accused person's access to their app while the company's team completes a review of what happened.

The same report notes between 2017 and 2020, there were 9,805 sexual assaults reported to them. The company defines sexual assault as non-consensual kissing, touching, and penetration of sexual and non-sexual body parts.

Uber gave 4.4 billion rides in the U.S. from 2017 to 2020, according to the report.

During the same time period, riders were accused of being the aggressor in an average of 44% of the reported assaults.

SEE ALSO: 'My life flashed right before me': Uber driver urges safety with Life360 application tracker

"I would advise all Uber drivers who have their own clique, friends, and family members to get that 360 app," a rideshare driver said after being threatened by her own passenger. She shares the frightful moment with ABC13.

Uber does not include sexual misconduct in the sexual assault count. They consider incidents like exposing or pleasuring one's self, indecent photos or videos without permission, explicit comments, and more, as sexual misconduct. Riders are able to report those incidents as well, although the number is not available in their safety report.

"Who could have ever seen 15 years ago that you would have a phone that would pair you with a stranger, and it would become socially acceptable to get into the car with someone you don't know and go somewhere?" Stanley said. "Now they know more information about you than you ever knew about them. It's strange, but now it's accepted, and that's what we do. Because it is the accepted practice, Uber must make this safe."

In addition to representing the Houston Jane Doe, Stanley is part of multi-district litigation, or MDL, filed against Uber for sexual assaults on passengers. So far, he said there are 180 cases from across the nation in the MDL, and he anticipates more will be filed.

"The main thing is we want change," Stanley said. "Uber could make the space safer. It's possible for Uber to listen in to every ride. They could require you to agree to surveillance inside the ride through audio or even through video."

A federal judge in California has scheduled a hearing for the MDL on Friday that Stanley will be attending.

He said he does not plan to include Jane Doe's case in the federal suit.

Uber responded to ABC13's questions by saying, "Sexual assault is a horrific crime, and we take every report of this nature very seriously. While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we are deeply committed to the safety of all users on the Uber platform."

The rideshare company went on to say that 99.9% of their trips end without incident, but they have still increased the safety features on their app in recent years.

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