Uber driver denies allegation of rape
An Uber driver charged with raping a passenger last year told a jury Wednesday he never forced himself upon the woman he picked up after a SunFest concert.
Gary Kitchings testified that the encounter at his passenger’s Jupiter condo was totally consensual, and he denied the allegations that led to six felony counts and his trial this week.
“She invited me to come into the house,” he said, as the woman listened to his testimony in a Palm Beach County courtroom. “The sex was consensual. We both did what we did.”
Kitchings, 58, disputed most of the account his 38-year-old accuser gave from the witness stand on Monday and Tuesday.
She told the jury that Kitchings threatened to harm her with a gun if she didn’t perform sex acts in the car, and at one point she unbuckled her seat belt and tried to open the front passenger door to jump out of the 2016 Nissan Versa.
“I realized this is a nightmare,” the accuser testified of the May 7 Uber ride. “This guy is a monster and he is going to do things to me that I do not want to do.”
Because of the nature of the allegations, the South Florida Sun Sentinel is not naming the woman.
She told the jury that when the ride began, she and two other passengers had a friendly chat about the 3 Doors Down show that night at the West Palm Beach festival.
After the other riders were dropped off, Kitchings called her “sexy,” unzipped his pants and soon ordered sex acts as he continued driving. He said that never happened, and his attorneys say there is no physical evidence from the car.
The accuser, who now lives in New York City full time and owns an Internetbased skin care products firm, testified that Kitchings later forced his way through her front door and into her bedroom.
She said he threatened to kill her and her two small dogs if she didn’t comply. The woman said she was raped on the bed, but was able to call 911 after he left. She said she never saw a gun; the police later looked but didn’t find one either.
In Kitchings’ version, the woman became flirtatious in the front seat as soon as he dropped off the other passengers. She asked him if he was married, and he said he was.
“She asked me if I cheat,” said Kitchings, recalling how he was flattered by her interest and couldn’t say no. “I wasn’t opposed to any of it.”
He testified the woman’s condo was sparsely decorated, and there was dog poop in the living and dining rooms. They soon became intimate on her bed. “She had this nice grin on her face,” he said.
Kitchings later picked up another Uber passenger for a trip to Wellington, but he was arrested the next day and has remained in jail.
He is charged with four counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon or physical force, one count of burglary with assault or battery, and false imprisonment. He has lost his jobs with Uber and a foster home facility in suburban West Palm Beach.