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Another Uber driver charged with raping a passenger
By adamg on Fri, 09/02/2016 - 4:55pm
A Brockton man is charged with raping a woman he picked up as an Uber driver early Wednesday and then, after she fled his car, following her and raping her again.
Authorities did not say where the alleged attacks took place, but Michael Vedrine, 32, was arraigned today in Dorchester Municipal Court, which hears cases for Dorchester and Mattapan.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office:
Vedrine is accused of sexually assaulting the victim, a woman in her 20s, in his vehicle during a ride to her home and continuing the assault after she told him to stop. When she left the vehicle, he allegedly followed her and sexually assaulted her a second time.
The victim reported the assault to Boston Police, who interviewed her and Vedrine. They seized Vedrine's phone and vehicle for forensic examination and further investigation. Shortly after Vedrine's interview, prosecutors said, Vedrine allegedly called the victim. Based on the evidence gathered thus far and new concerns raised by the phone call, detectives took him into custody.
Prosecutors asked for bail of $50,000 and requested Vedrine be required to wear a GPS device while awaiting trial. Judge Lisa Ann Grant released him on his own recognizance.
WBZ reports that court documents show that Vedrine's defense is that while the woman was "extremely drunk," she consented to sex.
Last month, a Dorchester man who drove for Uber was charged with raping a teen. In July, another driver was charged with trying to grope his passenger. In April, a Globe reporter reported a driver propositioned her for a blow job while locking his vehicle's doors.
Also last month, an Uber driver already charged with exposing himself to passing women was charged with exposing himself again.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
Well done Judge Grant.
I bet the victim appreciated the personal recognizance bail.
well, something stinks.
First off: it's not possible for Uber or Lyft drivers to contact a passenger once a ride is over. There's a VoIP layer between drivers and passenger, and neither party receives the other's real phone number. That means she gave him her number.
Second: "They seized Vedrine's phone and vehicle for forensic examination and further investigation. Shortly after Vedrine's interview, prosecutors said, Vedrine allegedly called the victim."
Let's assume he somehow managed to get her number. It was on his phone. Which was confiscated. So he manages to get a new phone, magically knows her number, calls her from the new phone?
Furthermore: why didn't detectives get GPS logs and ride records from the ridesharing company? They'd prove where he was/wasn't.
This is getting out of
This is getting out of control.
Getting?
I'd say these acts demonstrate that there are no controls. When's the last time a taxi driver was charged with something like this? I'm sure it has happened, but I don't recall when.
When was the last time a taxi driver was identified?
It is much, much, much easier for a victim to identify a ride-share driver. Good luck figuring out which taxi driver committed the crime after he drives away, unless the victim had the presence of mind while fleeing to take a picture of his cab number.
The fact that these acts so quickly lead to an arrest show that the controls are working.
You are wrong about finding cab drivers
I certainly believe that if a woman was raped by a cab driver, we would have certainly have heard about it, even if the rapist got away.
Cab drivers can be found after a crime quite quickly, most cabs on the road today are using GPS tracking in the cab at all times. Even some smaller towns are using a tracking system to dispatch calls. Dispatchers often know exactly where a cab is at any given time and all calls must be recorded and kept on file for quite some time.
The controls may be working for Uber, but they are not working for that poor victim.
Dispatchers?
Are they the people who grunt the wrong ETA on the phone, on the rare occasion they'll pick up their phone?
Oh this is such bullshit.
So the only way these things get reported is if the victim knows who the attacker is? Yeah, that's the distinction here. Couldn't be the fact that the substandard background check can't weed out predators, right?
well, yea, except none of
well, yea, except none of these drivers had any kind of criminal history, so no, those magic background checks that find the predators would not have helped here.
Completely false
For instance:
Uber driver with 8-page criminal record raped teen
Nice effort.
Back to the excuse machine for you.
Can someone please explain
Can someone please explain why liberals are anti uber? This post is clearly to be a click bait for the left. I am serous. Please explain why uber is so so bad. Yes this guy should be locked up forever (although a liberal wouldn't want that) but what gives? Is it the fact uber makes life so much easier and makes much more sense than cabs? Is it that uber is technology based? Is uber casing global warming? I don't get it
Oh, conservatives know how to type?
That's about as ridiculous as your assertion.
There is a liberal case to be made against Uber, but this isn't part of it. Unless you're implying conservatives applaud Uber for hiring rapists.
Liberals are not anti Uber we are pro worker
The real problem is an antiquated livery system that makes medallions a commodity and prevents competition. That's how uber and lyft jumped in. In Dorchester I it takes like an hour to call a cab.
I think it is A good thing to streamline cost in the livery service but not at the cost of safety. Inventing the platform and running the database does not entitle Uber to collect millions without responsibility for the drivers. That means providing them with normal employment services like healthcare and retirement as well as protecting the public safety and being liable for problems that they cause .
Some self identified liberals also believe that
charter schools don't take funding away from urban school districts.
I am not one of them
I am not one of them
I am a regular user of ride
I am a regular user of ride sharing service but the safety standard of uber is really bad. I did Google search for sexual assault in uber, left and taxi and this is what I came with:
Uber: 6
Lyft: 0
Taxi: 0
9/2/16: Another Uber driver charged with raping a passenger
http://www.universalhub.com/2016/another-uber-driver-charged-raping-pass...
8/11/16: Uber driver with long record charged with raping teen
Uber driver with long record charged with raping teen
7/6/16: Uber driver charged with sexually attacking female rider
http://www.universalhub.com/2016/uber-driver-charged-sexually-attacking-...
4/30/16: Uber driver propositions reporter for oral sex; locks her in at her destination
http://www.universalhub.com/2016/uber-driver-propositions-reporter-oral-...
2/9/15: Boston Uber Driver Charged with Sexual Assault
http://www.boston.com/news/untagged/2015/02/09/boston-uber-driver-charge...
12/17/14: Uber driver faces rape charges for ride that started in Boston
http://www.universalhub.com/2014/uber-driver-faces-rape-charges-ride-sta...
Adam should do a spotlight on uber.
Sent from my iPad
I'm not impressed with your
I'm not impressed with your research methods, they're less than scientific.
If you know how
If you know how to do a "scientific" google search, by all means go for it.
hitchhiking
I grew up in the 80's, where we were warned about taking rides from strangers - threats of kidnapping, murder, serial killers, sex trafficking. When these ride share programs first came up, it sounded like hitchhiking that you pay for. I know the vast majority of rides go smoothly (if not cheaply) but I personally won't ride Uber of Lyft until I felt the driver's were more thoroughly vetted. I don't care that there's a digital trial back to the guy - I'm still raped at that point.
Most salient point in the thread
"I'm still raped at that point." I'm glad you said that. I hope that didn't actually happen to you, of course, but you bring up an oft-overlooked point. In the words of Ja Rule, "you know what? I still (got) you."
If you're not afraid of going to jail, not afraid of losing your 93 cent a mile before taxes/expenses job, and you have absolutely no respect for women's rights, then driving UberX is fish in a barrel for you.
You don't need to rely wholly on the results of a CORI check to judge who's fit to drive UberX, an understanding of circumstances and incentives is helpful too. I thought San Franciscans were supposed to be smart.
Two fare cuts later
This is what you end up with for drivers. And this is a company that actually LOST a billion dollars last quarter.
Rapists should stop being rapists, but since rapists are still rapists, ask yourself this: How well do you think the average Boston cabbie lives? Not great? Well, how well do you think somebody making half of that does?
If you're not making much money driving UberX, then almost literally the only other reason to do it is to have access to women whom you would not otherwise encounter.
I wish for justice for this woman. Since our pussy courts sure as (expletive) aren't going to provide it, I hope that if the allegations are true, that this driver is involved in a single-car accident.
Is Uber driver meant to be a
Is Uber driver meant to be a full time job? It's a gig. A part of the gig economy. Part of the day is Uber. Other part is Fiverr.
Any orders from the judge not to drive?
Or is he free to rape other fares so long as hes wearing his gps bracelet.
What a bunch of horses#!t, your honor.
Listen, stupid
First off: it's not possible for Uber or Lyft drivers to contact a passenger once a ride is over. There's a VoIP layer between drivers and passenger, and neither party receives the other's real phone number. That means she gave him her number.
Second: "They seized Vedrine's phone and vehicle for forensic examination and further investigation. Shortly after Vedrine's interview, prosecutors said, Vedrine allegedly called the victim."
Let's assume he somehow managed to get her number. It was on his phone. Which was confiscated. So he manages to get a new phone, magically knows her number, calls her from the new phone?
Furthermore: why didn't detectives get GPS logs and ride records from the ridesharing company? They'd prove where he was/wasn't.
repeating yourself?
If (and thats a big if) she gave him her phone number that does does not entitle him to have sex with her.
I love the ride sharing apps
I love the ride sharing apps but Uber drivers raping passengers is almost a monthly or weekly occurrings now in Massachusetts. This is alarming and should stop. I do not remember the last time a taxi driver was involved in such scenarios.
It looks like the uber drivers are committing sexual assault crimes at a much higher rate than the taxi drivers. This has to do with Uber not vetting their drivers properly to maintain their growth. Uber was able to bully our state legislators into passing a legislation with less stringent background checks for its drivers and this is a disgrace.
As a frequent user of uber, I would say let the same standards including finger printing used for taxi drivers be applied to Uber drivers. I like the convenience of ride sharing apps but uber needs to raise its safety standards. Be safe everyone.
I want to see the ride share industry response to
these heinous attacks and overall safety. Is its continued position to deploy big name door openers to deflect distract and mobilize hipsters and millennials to look the other way?
As opposed to ...
The Taxi Industry sweeping all their accidents and violent attacks under the rug.
I ask again
Have there been sexual assaults by Boston taxi drivers? It seems there must have been, but I can't remember any. All my googling only turned up one, and that was committed by a suburban livery driver, not a medallion-taxi driver. If this is a massive coverup by the taxi industry, it is impressively effective.
All of the hidden Taxi driver assaults happened at the
grassy knoll.