THE BRONX — A cabbie lost his license after groping a passenger and telling her that he wanted to impregnate, the head of the Taxi and Limousine Commission said Tuesday.
Jorge Wilmores-Metivier, a driver with Union Car Service Union, harassed a woman he was driving home, the victim testified in city hearing on June 9.
Wilmores-Metivier failed to appear in court and a judge ruled in the victim's favor, records show.
The 20-year-old woman tried to report the harassment to the police twice but was told that there was nothing they could do because there was “no penetration,” she told the judge. Police said they had no immediate information on the woman's account.
On Feb. 22, Wilmores-Metivier was called to Davidson Avenue in University Heights. He picked up the young woman who was at her cousin’s house and was supposed to take her to her home nearby.
Soon after she entered the car, Wilmores-Metivier began to harass the passenger, telling her wanted to have sex with her and get her pregnant, according to officials.
Nearing the end of the ride, the driver reached back and touched the woman’s upper left thigh, she testified at an administrative hearing on June 9. Wilmores-Metivier smiled when the woman slapped away his hand, she told the judge.
When the woman finally reached her home she paid the $10 fare and darted out of the car, she testified.
Prior to the incident, Wilmores-Metivier, who got his taxi license in 2011, has been fined four times for minor violations — not displaying his license, picking up a street hail passenger and for accumulating six to nine points on his state driver’s license.
He did not show up for the June 9 hearing and on June 26, Administrative Judge John B. Spooner recommended that he lose his Taxi and Limousine Commission license and pay a $2,000 fine.
He was still working for the Union Car Service on Tuesday nearly a month after the ruling, an employee confirmed.
But on Tuesday afternoon, TLC issued a statement that they were revoking Wilmores-Metivier's license.
“This was a truly disturbing case. This driver’s words and action were unacceptable and insulting to his female passenger and all women," said TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi. "There is clearly no place for him behind the wheel of a New York City for-hire vehicle. As of today, he will no longer enjoy the privilege of a TLC license."
A manager at Union Car Service said he had worked with them for several years and denied all allegations against him.
“He’s a very, very nice driver. He’s a very responsible guy,” said Ana Porras, 40. "He supports his family with that license... He's in the middle of something unexpected. It's difficult for him."
Porras would not immediately provide a way to contact Wilmores-Metivier.
