ST. LOUIS — A Lyft driver is now in custody after he was charged with raping a woman who had ordered a Lyft ride in downtown St. Louis.
Larry Ward, 53, was arrested by the St. Peters Police Department at his St. Peters home Thursday night. A warrant had been filed for his arrest after he was charged with rape and kidnapping on Thursday.
According to a probable cause statement, Ward was working as a Lyft driver on June 22 when he picked up a woman who had ordered a Lyft rideshare at 1000 Clark Avenue, the address for the Tin Roof bar.
During the ride, the statement said that Ward turned off his rideshare location software and deviated from the route to her drop-off location.
He then raped her in the backseat while she was intoxicated, the probable cause statement said. A rape kit was tested and the results matched with Ward's DNA.
A Lyft spokesperson confirmed Thursday that Ward had been fired.
It was not clear why charges were filed five months after the incident or if Ward continued working as a Lyft driver during that time.
Ward's bond is set at $100,000 cash.
Here is the full statement 5 On Your Side received from Lyft:
"Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the behavior described is appalling. We have permanently removed the driver from the Lyft community and reached out to the rider to offer our support. We have been in contact with law enforcement and will continue to help in every way we can."
Safe Connections also offers support for victims and survivors of sexual abuse.
Zenique Gardner-Perry is the Prevention Education Manager at Safe Connections. "You can’t take advantage of someone when they are drunk," she said. "That doesn’t give you license to take advantage of somebody’s body."
For sexual abuse cases, it's common to see it happen with someone the victim trusts. And Perry said many riders trust these ride-sharing apps.
"Sometimes, these background checks don't matter, because rape and sexual assault are so under-reported," Perry said
If you can, Perry suggests several things. "Let someone know that we are being picked up by a driver and this is the amount of time that the ride should get home. You can share your ride and let them know that you're coming," she said.
Also, when you open the car door, you can see if the child lock is on or off.
But if you're too intoxicated to take those measures, Perry had this to say: "It’s not the rider’s fault. They can't express themselves, they can't speak, they are asleep. We should make sure they are safe and getting taken care of. These riders are expecting these drivers to do that when they get into their car and instead they are taking advantage of them."
Perry reminds victims and survivors that they are never alone.
Safe Connections has a 24-hour-hotline at 314-531-2003.
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