Uber driver arrest: Sexual assault, kidnapping suspect teaches middle school
08/14/2015 9:46 am PDT
A middle-school teacher moonlighting as an Uber driver was arrested, accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a female passenger this week.
According to an arrest affidavit, Patrick Aiello, 39, a sixth-grade social-studies teacher in Charleston, S.C., was driving for the ride-share app service Uber when he picked up two friends, a male and a female, Sunday night. He drove to the man's house and dropped him off, and the woman asked to be dropped off blocks away because she was intoxicated and didn't want to walk home in the dark.
Aiello allegedly drove the woman around but did not stop at her residence. When the woman noticed, Aiello told her she had to pay him with sexual favors, according to the affidavit.
The woman said she offered Aiello money and repeatedly asked to be let out of the vehicle. Aiello allegedly asked for sex for payment and stopped the vehicle near a highway.
Aiello allegedly attacked and sexually assaulted her. The affidavit says he then kicked the woman out of the car.
The woman ran onto the nearby highway and was struck by a vehicle. She was hospitalized in unknown condition, but was able to identify Aiello in a photo lineup. Police did not specify where the photo came from.
- Aiello was arrested Monday evening at the Charleston Police Department, charged with kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
According to the affidavit, Aiello admitted to police that he had driven the intoxicated woman, had stopped near the highway and kissed her, performed oral sex on her and then kicked her out of the vehicle.
The police incident report listed the crime as "forcible rape." Aiello was denied bail after his arrest.
Tuesday, an Uber spokesperson said Aiello has been removed as a driver from the platform, and that the company is cooperating with authorities.
Aiello was placed on administrative leave by his school district.
SOURCES:WBMF-TV,Post and Courier