Uber driver charged with sexually assaulting female passenger in US

Charges have been framed against a 46-year-old Uber driver after it came that he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman after taking her to a motel in southern California in an unconscious state, according to media reports.

Alaric Spence picked up a 24-year-old female passenger in downtown Los Angeles on June 23. At some point during the ride, the victim fell unconscious possibly due to drinking, police said.

The suspect then drove the woman to a motel on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, carried the unconscious woman inside, sexually assaulted her and left, the NBC4 reported.

When she woke up the next morning, she did not recognise her surroundings, and called police.

Spence was arrested on Friday. He has five previous felony convictions related to possession and sale of narcotics in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and as far north as Sacramento.

Spence's former roommate said she was aware of his criminal past, but she did not see him as a threat and described him as a 'gentle soul.'

"I was comfortable with him around my daughter," she said. "he was never disrespectful."

He has been an Uber driver for the past six months and the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) believes there may be other victims.

"It doesn't seem feasible that this would be the first time, when you take an individual like this," LAPD Robbery- Homicide Captain William Hayes said.

He went on to describe the sexual assault as 'brazen.' Hayes added that surveillance video shows the suspect carrying the passed out victim from his car to the motel room.

Spence is being held on USD 1 million bail and the case is currently being presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for filing consideration.

"No person should ever have to experience the violent act that has been reported to police. We are working with the Los Angeles Police Department to fully support their investigation, and the driver has been banned from the Uber app," a spokesman for the ride-hailing company Uber said in a statement.