Uber driver convicted in rape of intoxicated passenger
CHESTER, Pa. — An Uber driver has been found guilty of raping an intoxicated woman he picked up at a casino near Philadelphia.
Ahmed Elgaafary was found guilty Thursday of rape of an unconscious person, sexual assault and indecent assault.
Elgaafary, 27, of Lansdale, will be sentenced at a later date and then likely deported to Egypt, where he is a citizen, said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.
The driver picked up the woman at Valley Forge Casino Resort in February. Assistant District Attorney Vincent Robert Cocco told the jury that the driver stretched the 15-minute ride to the woman’s home into a 53-minute one to assault her in the backseat.
He charged her for the longer ride and for vomiting in his car, adding an extra $150, Cocco said.
“She should have been safe,” he said. “He knew she was vulnerable. He knew she was alone. He knew she was too drunk.”
Elgaafary’s lawyer, Melissa Berlot McCafferty, argued the sex was consensual. She told the jury the woman seduced Elgaafary and he initially lied rather than admitting he’d cheated on his pregnant wife.
“He cheated on his wife,” McCafferty said. “He’s not a rapist. He’s not a criminal.”
Elgaafary acknowledged that the woman was drunk on the witness stand.
The victim said she remembered nothing after leaving the casino around 2 a.m. but awoke the next day with bruises on her thighs and a feeling that something bad had happened. She went to a hospital for a rape kit.
After the verdict, Uber officials condemned the driver’s conduct and said he had been “permanently removed” as a worker.
