Uber driver accused of rape
An Uber driver accused of raping a woman after her birthday celebration was held yesterday on $10,000 cash bail.
Michael Squadrito, 40, of Everett was driving for Uber Monday night when he picked up the allegedly intoxicated woman at the Wild Rover bar in Faneuil Hall where, she later told authorities, she had been celebrating her birthday.
“She remembered being pulled over on a one-way street,” Darcy Currey, an assistant district attorney, said of the woman. “She remembered the suspect getting on top of her, seeing her jeans and underwear had been pulled down . ... She stated she was sure she did not consent to the actions.”
Squadrito, described as a heavy-set man with a long beard and long, shaggy hair, pulled over during the trip, got out of his seat and climbed into the back with the woman, according to prosecutors. Dorchester Municipal Court Judge Thomas Kaplanes allowed Squadrito to remain behind a door during his arraignment so he would not be visible to media.
Curry said Squadrito told police the incident was consensual and said there was a camera in his car that should have been recording.
Squadrito’s attorney, Nancy Hurley, suggested the woman may have been too drunk to remember what happened.
“The young lady in the police report indicates she was inebriated, so much so she does not remember portions of what is alleged to have happened,” Hurley said.
Hurley said Squadrito has no money and lives with his parents and siblings.
In a statement, Uber confirmed Squadrito’s removal from the app.