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Uber Driver Charged With Sexual Assault of Passenger

By  Mark Schipper and Tanveer Ali | December 29, 2014 8:07pm 

 Maxime Fohounhedo, 30, was charged with criminal sexual assault for allegedly raping a woman he drove while working for Uber. 
Maxime Fohounhedo, 30, was charged with criminal sexual assault for allegedly raping a woman he drove while working for Uber. 
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Chicago Police Department

CHICAGO — An Uber driver was charged with criminal sexual assault Monday, more than a month after allegedly raping a passenger in Lincoln Square. 

Maxime Fohounhedo, 30, of the 4400 block of North Lawndale Avenue, was charged with criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse, according to police. 

The incident occurred on Nov. 16 after the victim requested a ride from Uber about 2:30 a.m. after a night out with her colleagues in River North, according to a police report filed later that day.

The passenger was getting into the back seat of the Uber driver's black four-door car about 20 minutes later, when the driver told her to get in the front seat because he wasn't familiar with the area where she was going, the report said.

With the woman in the front seat, the driver later parked the car near Lawrence and Western avenues and grabbed the woman, the report said.

The woman blacked out and recalled being in an apartment with the driver on top of her, police said. He later drove her home in the same car, according to the report.

The woman texted a friend shortly after 4 a.m. about the incident before falling asleep, the report said.

"I was just sexually assaulted by my Uber driver and I'm supberb (sic) drunk, but I need someone to remind me to follow through to make sure this never happens again," she texted, according to the report.

The 22-year-old victim was treated at Swedish Covenant Hospital, police said.

Before Fohounhedo'a arrest, Uber spokeswoman Jennifer Mullin said in a statement that the company "immediately removed the driver from the Uber platform" after the company was notified of the incident.

"This is an appalling and unacceptable incident, and first and foremost our thoughts are with the victim and her family," stated Mullin, the Uber spokeswoman. "We immediately removed the driver from the Uber platform when we learned of the reported incident and are cooperating fully with law enforcement. We stand ready to assist them however we can to hold the perpetrator accountable.
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Fohounhedo is due in bond court Tuesday.

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