Lyft driver jailed in sex attack on boy
Police fear more victims after teen rider assaulted
A ride home from school turned horrific for a 16-year-old boy when his Lyft driver made his way into his Davie home and sexually assaulted him, police say.
After dropping off the teen, the driver drove off in a red Nissan Sentra on Tuesday afternoon but returned about 10 minutes later. He knocked on the teen’s door, spoke with him at the entrance, complimenting his appearance. The boy, fearing the driver would try to force his way into the house, allowed the man inside, police said.
The driver made him perform a sex act on him, police said. The teen thought if he did not comply, something would happen to him, police said.
This case brings attention to how traveling without an adult poses a potential risk to children using ridehailing services such as Lyft and Uber.
Lyft and Uber each say minors aren’t allowed to ride in their drivers’ cars unless they are accompanied by an adult. But it still happens: The boy in Tuesday’s case was a regular user of Lyft, though it was not known if he knew the driver, police said.
Lyft did not say how drivers are supposed to check a rider’s age.
In the Davie case, the boy’s mother contacted police that night.
Police arrested the Lyft driver, Julio C. Perez, 43, on suspicion of committing an unlawful sex act with a minor, but are concerned he may have harmed others, too. They’re asking anyone whose child may have been victimized to contact them.
“What often happens in these cases is they may drive for Lyft, but they may also drive for some other agency or some other company,” Davie Police Capt. Dale Engle said of people who work for ride-hailing services. “The confidence Perez displayed in returning to the residence leads us to believe there may be other victims out there.”
Davie police’s investigation was briefly stalled until Lyft responded to a subpoena and provided information about the driver, Engle said.
Kate Margolis, a Lyft corporate communications spokeswoman, said the company is in contact with police and has offered its “full assistance and cooperation.”
“We are horrified by these allegations,” Margolis said. “We deactivated the driver as soon as this was reported, and stand ready to support the passenger and his family.”
Margolis said under Lyft’s terms of service, “unaccompanied minors are not permitted on the platform,” she said in an email. “Children are welcome to join adult passengers in a ride, but aren’t permitted to ride alone in a Lyft vehicle.”
A spokeswoman couldn’t be reached late Thursday to specify what age Lyft passengers must be to ride.
An Aug. 17 Sun Sentinel report detailed how families use ride-sharing apps to shuttle their kids between school and their activities. Some parents said they knew the risks but still let their children use the apps.
One mother insisted her daughter ride with other children and not on her own. Parents said the services helped kids fulfill busy schedules when the adults in their households are at work.
In Florida and other parts of the country, there have been news reports of ride-sharing drivers accused of committing sex crimes against adult riders. Wouldn’t kids be even more vulnerable riding alone? In May, an Uber driver in Kissimmee was accused of sexual battery on a 14-year-old girl who was traveling alone to a relative’s home.
Engle said he understood the appeal of ridesharing services and their convenient cellphone apps that charge fares that may be lower than traditional taxis.
“But you go back to the question about background checks,” Engle said. “I think taxi drivers probably are more scrutinized when they are given their license to operate a taxi, especially here in Broward County, than some of these online services.”
He said parents should make sure they are hiring reputable companies to transport their children.
“And we think that Lyft would be,” Engle said. “I’m not saying that they’re not. Obviously, people can either slip through the cracks, or the companies aren’t doing their due diligence to investigate these people and who they are.”
As for how Lyft checks drivers’ backgrounds, Margolis said, “We have an in-depth screening process for drivers — including criminal background and driving-record checks, queries of local, state and federal databases, and a 50-state sex offender registry check — in addition to a vehicle inspection.”
Hialeah police arrested Perez on Wednesday night. Davie police detectives interviewed him and he admitted the allegations, Engle said. Perez “indicated that he thought the kid was 12 years old,” Engle said. “So he knew that he was underage.”
Perez was in custody Thursday at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami. It was unclear if he has a lawyer.
Police are asking anyone whose child may have been victimized or who has other concerns to call Detective Michael Kealy at 954-693-8200 or Broward County Crime Stoppers, at 954-493-8477. That organization accepts anonymous tips and pays up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.