Uber driver ‘sexually assaulted woman he picked up from police station after her DUI crash arrest’

Uber driver ‘admits sexually assaulting woman he picked up from a police station after she was arrested for a DUI crash’ nearly two years after the incident as new DNA evidence links him to the crime

  • Police said Amir Attia, 45, was arrested and charged on sexual assault charges 
  • He is accused of having sexually assaulted a woman, 25, he picked up from outside a police station in July 2018
  • The woman had been released by police following a DUI traffic accident arrest 
  • She claimed on the way to her home, Attia stopped the car and assaulted her 
  • Police said they confirmed the assault via DNA evidence which they later matched to Attia, leading to his arrest on Wednesday 

Police said Uber driver Amir Attia, 45, was arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting a woman, 25, he was driving to her home in July 2018

A California Uber driver with a previous sexual battery conviction was charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a 25-year-old woman in 2018 after he picked her up at a police station following her DUI arrest. 

Authorities said they arrested Amir Attia, 45, of Tustin, California, on Wednesday, in connection with the incident that allegedly occurred in July 2018, Santa Ana Police said in a release.  

Police said the unnamed woman, 25, had been arrested by the Tustin Police Department for a DUI after getting involved in a traffic accident in July 2018.  

She told investigators that after she was released that day, she called an Uber to pick her up from the police station to take her to her home in Santa Ana, California. 

During the ride, she claimed that her driver – Attia – stopped the car and sexually assaulted her. Police said that DNA evidence confirmed the assault. 

Police said investigators got a DNA match to Attia more than a year after the incident occurred, KTLA reported.    

Santa Ana Police then arrested Attia at his home on Wednesday, NBC Los Angeles reported.

The woman said that Attia picked her up at the Tustin Police Department, where she had been released from custody following a DUI arrest in July 2018. On the way to her home, she claimed that Attia stopped and sexually assaulted her

The woman said that Attia picked her up at the Tustin Police Department, where she had been released from custody following a DUI arrest in July 2018. On the way to her home, she claimed that Attia stopped and sexually assaulted her

Police said that DNA evidence confirmed that a sexual assault had taken place and that they later matched the DNA sample to one taken from Attia (pictured)

Amir Attia

Police said that DNA evidence confirmed that a sexual assault had taken place and that they later matched the DNA sample to one taken from Attia (pictured)

Uber said they removed Attia's access to the rideshare app after learning of the alleged incident (file image)

Uber said they removed Attia’s access to the rideshare app after learning of the alleged incident (file image)  

Police said that Attia then confessed to sexually assaulting the victim. 

He has since been booked into Orange County Jail on two felony counts of sexual penetration and two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. He faces up to six years in prison if convicted.  

Attia’s previous sexual battery conviction dates back to 1993. 

His bail was set at $150,000. 

In a statement to KTLA, Uber said that the woman’s accusations against Attia were ‘deeply troubling’ and said that the company ‘removed the driver’s access to the app back in 2018 after we learned of this disturbing incident.’

‘Ridesharing services provide a valuable service in preventing intoxicated people from getting behind the wheel,’ Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. ‘It is tragic that this predator used his client´s state of intoxication to victimize her.’ 

The woman was said to have been released from the Tustin Police Department that night because it does not have a jail. The department’s policy is to cite and release people, encouraging anyone who remains drunk to take alternate transportation home, according to NBC Los Angeles.  

Police said they are concerned that other women might have been sexually assaulted by Attia while he was still driving for Uber. 

Santa Ana Police detectives are asking that anyone with information regarding this case, or who may have been victimized by Attia call Corporal Maria Lopez at 714-245-8542 or  Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk