Uber driver charged with rape held without bail
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — An Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a woman who had summoned the ride-sharing service was ordered held without bail Wednesday.
Alejandro Done, 46, of Boston, waived his right to a dangerousness hearing in Cambridge District Court and will be held until his next scheduled court hearing Jan. 26.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, assault to rape, kidnapping, and assault and battery. He didn’t speak during Wednesday’s hearing.
Prosecutors say Done picked up the woman from a Boston residence Dec. 6. The woman had been out with friends and had summoned an Uber driver to take her to her Cambridge home.
Done drove to a location the woman was not familiar with, pulled over in a secluded area and climbed into the back seat with her, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say he struck her, choked her, locked the car doors and covered her mouth so she couldn’t scream. Authorities say Done sexually assaulted her after a struggle.
Cambridge police identified the suspect through Uber company records.
It’s unclear if Done used information he gleaned as an Uber driver to target the victim, the Middlesex district attorney’s office said.
“Ride shares may be a new frontier in public transportation, but the age-old wisdom still applies: Know who is taking you and where and act on your instincts to get away if you have any feeling at all that a situation seems suspicious,” District Attorney Marian Ryan said.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based Uber called the alleged assault “a despicable crime.”
Done passed a background check and has no prior criminal record.
