Uber driver charged in sexual assaults
Suspect allegedly picked up riders who weren’t assigned to him
Toronto police have charged an Uber driver after an investigation into a year-long series of sexual assaults.
The first incident dates back to December 2017, when a 31year-old woman ordered an Uber at 2 a.m. She was picked up by a man who was an Uber driver — but who was not as- signed to her request — and allegedly sexually assaulted near Blue Jays Way and King St. W., police said in a news release Friday.
In April of this year, officers responded to a call at 2 a.m., near Bloor St. W. and. Madison Ave., after a woman ordered an Uber and picked up by a driver who was not assigned to her request. She alleges she was driven to a secluded area and sexually assaulted.
In July, police responded to a call at 2:40 a.m. after a woman alleges she was sexually assault- ed in the area of Lake Shore Rd. E. and Hurontario St. The 36year-old woman said she was sitting in front of a restaurant when a man approached her in a car and offered her a ride. When she accepted, she was driven to a parking lot and allegedly sexually assaulted.
The most recent incident was in October, when officers responded to a call for a sexual assault in the Polson St. and Cherry St. area. A 35-year-old woman told police she was waiting in a designated taxi area when a man, who was parked nearby, told her he was an Uber driver and offered to help her.
She accepted but once he drove past her destination, she alleges that she was sexually assaulted.
She told police she tried to jump out of the car but was confined. She was eventually able to make an escape.
Senol Komec, 38, of Vaughan, has been charged with four counts of sexual assault and four counts of forcible confinement.
“What has been reported is horrible and something no per- son should go through,” said an Uber spokesperson. “As soon as we learned about these incidents, we immediately removed the driver’s access to the app.”
Uber also said the company will co-operate with the investigation in any way it can. Anyone with more information is asked to contact police at 416-8087474 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).