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Prosecutors: Uber Driver ‘Kidnapped, Terrorized, and Assaulted’ Female Passenger

The victim woke up to her driver groping her on the side of the road, federal prosecutors said.

An Uber driver has been accused of kidnapping and assaulting a woman during her ride home, according to a Justice Department announcement and local reports. Harbir Parmar picked up the woman in Manhattan and was supposed to drop her off in White Plains, New York, but switched her destination to Boston, Mass., while she was sleeping, federal prosecutors allege. When she woke up, “the vehicle was on the side of the road and Parmar was in the backseat of the vehicle with her, with his hand under her shirt touching the top of her breast,” a complaint states. Parmar then began driving again but ignored her request to be dropped off in White Plains or at a police station, according to the complaint. The driver allegedly ended up ditching her on the side of the I-95 in Branford, Connecticut. The woman then sought assistance at the nearby convenience store, the complaint says. “Parmar kidnapped, terrorized, and assaulted the woman before dumping her on the side of an interstate,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. “No one—man or woman—should fear such an attack when they simply hire a car service.”

Parmar has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and wire fraud. He faces a maximum of life in prison for the kidnapping charge, and 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge.