ICE SEARCHING FOR UBER DRIVER RELEASED ON BAIL AFTER ALLEGEDLY RAPING PASSENGER
ICE agents are on the lookout for a man identified as Luis Baez who was released on bail after allegedly raping a female passenger in September last year.
Investigations revealed that Luis Baez, 34, used the fake name ‘Pedro Valentin’ to register as an Uber driver. He picked up the woman in Boston, and drove to a location where he assaulted her. The victim reported the alleged assault to campus police.
On September 29, 2016, the ride-hailing company confirmed that the suspect’s Uber account had been suspended indefinitely and that Baez had worked for less than a month prior to that date.
The police tracked Luis Baez from information retrieved from the victims Uber app. He was known to police because he had just been released on a $2,500 bail after pleading not guilty to three counts of rape a few days earlier and according to a release from the Middlesex County district attorney's office, he had been ordered to stay away from Boston College campus. Uber described the charges as "a horrible crime" and promised to cooperate with investigators.
ICE agents have beamed their searchlight on Baez who, according to reports, disappeared before ICE could file a detainer to keep him in custody. The 34-year-old Luis Baez is originally from the Dominican Republic. Prosecutors want a $100,000 bail and GPS monitoring to ensure he would not flee.
An Uber spokeswoman said, "What’s been described is a horrible crime and we will continue to fully support law enforcement. Uber blocked this individual’s account as soon as we learned about this last year." she continued.