WRENTHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — An Uber driver accused of raping a passenger on a ride from Franklin to Wrentham was arraigned in Wrentham District Court Tuesday.
Melvin Guerrero-Encarna, 33, is charged with two counts of rape. He was ordered held without bail pending a Thursday dangerousness hearing.
The alleged victim said she was drunk at the time, and told Encarna that when she got into his SUV.
The police report states that SUV was stopped for quite some time on the side of a dirt road before Encarna dropped the woman off—and that what should have been an eight-minute ride took over an hour.
"What police have reported is very upsetting and has no place on the Uber app," Uber said in a company statement. "The driver's access was removed as soon as this was reported to us."
Attorney Robert Carmel vehemently denies his client raped the woman, instead saying that they had a discussion for about 45 minutes about the woman's personal problems. Carmel says the woman gave Encarna her phone number when she got out of the vehicle.
"There's two sides to a coin in this case," he said. "The facts will exonerate him. He's had over 13,000 interactions with clients. He's never had any negative reviews ... she's not the victim. My client's the victim."
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports