XPost: alt.christnet.christianlife, sac.politics, stl.general
XPost: talk.politics.guns

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — An 18-year-old woman told police her rideshare
driver sexually abused her in St. Charles County. Less than a week later,
the same driver was accused of sexually abusing another rider through a different rideshare platform.

Prosecutors on Thursday charged Ahmad Rayahi, 37, with first-degree
harassment, second-degree sexual abuse and third-degree kidnapping.

The St. Charles Police Department said officers responded on Jan. 9 to the first incident on Calhoun Drive in St. Charles. An 18-year-old told police Rayahi, who was her Lyft driver, touched her inappropriately at the end of
her trip and asked to see her breasts. She was able to escape and called
law enforcement.

“During the reported incident on Jan. 9, the victim told us ... when they
got to her destination, he sexually abused her. She had a destination that
he drove past. He took her to a nearby business and locked the doors,”
said St. Charles police Lt. Daniel Gibbons.

On Jan. 14, police said Rayahi picked up a 34-year-old victim who had
requested a ride through UberX. Rayahi deviated from the intended
destination in Lake St. Louis and instead drove her to a nearby business
on the 8600 block of Orf Road in Lake St. Louis, police said. The victim
said Rayahi then confined her inside the car and sexually abused her.

The victim texted a friend for help, who alerted a pastor of the victim's intended destination. The pastor found Rayahi's car and confronted him,
and the victim escaped.

Gibbons said Rayahi came to the United States from Jordan using a tourist
visa. The visa had since expired.

"Investigators had kind of a difficult time locating him," Gibbons said.

Rayahi was taken into custody on Wednesday as part of a joint
investigation by Lake St. Louis and St. Charles police.

Rayahi was being held on a $250,000 bond.

Kristen Kloeppel, who uses rideshare services, said she's relieved police caught Rayahi.

“I use it kind of often whenever I go out with my friends, meeting my
family or when I’ve been drinking and don’t want to drive — just to be on
the safe side,” said Kloeppel.

Meanwhile, police remind rideshare users to always be on alert.

“I always make sure I think ahead, like I have my cellphone on me at all
times. And if possible, I have my pepper spray or small knife to protect
myself just in case something would happen,” Kloeppel said.

Any additional victims were asked to contact their local law enforcement agency, the St. Charles Police Department Detective Bureau at 636-949-3320
or the Lake St. Louis Police Department.

“It’s possible that there could be more victims who just haven’t contacted
us yet,” Gibbons said.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/crime/rideshare-driver-sexual-abuse-st- charles-county/63-a920b3e4-7b40-4034-b015-d2de4e27c48e?ref=exit-recirc

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)