Uber driver ‘groomed drunk girl of 14 in cab’
An Uber driver groomed a drunk 14-year-old passenger for sex after driving her home, a court heard yesterday.
Spyros ntounis, 35, complimented the girl on her looks and messaged her repeatedly asking if she wanted to meet again, the jury was told.
‘He was saying that I was hot and I had nice lips,’ she told Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court in south-west London.
‘I thought he was being nice, but then I thought it was a bit odd. As he got close to my house he started driving slowly because he said he wanted to spend more time with me.’ Prosecutor Allister Walker said: ‘At the time of the offence the defendant was a mini- cab driver working for Uber who collected the complainant from her friend’s address at 9.30pm. During the short journey he made inappropriate comments and obtained her phone number and over the next few days he sent her messages, asking her to meet him.
‘The prosecution say this was for some kind of sexual activity.’
GPS tracking proved ntounis slowed his car to a crawl of 5mph. He admitted to police this was to extend his time with her.
The court heard the girl was ‘five or six out of ten’ on the drunkenness scale after drinking rum and cokes – and that she informed him she was only 14.
ntounis of West Ealing, west London – who denies attempting to groom her – claimed to be 26. The trial continues.