NEW YORK (VINnews) — An Orthodox Jewish family from Long Island is suing Uber, alleging the ride-share company failed to enforce its own safety policies for underage riders before their 16-year-old daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted in Brooklyn by a man she met through Snapchat.
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According to court papers published by the NY Post, the teenager left her Nassau County home in March and entered an Uber allegedly ordered by the suspect. The lawsuit claims the driver failed to verify the girl’s age or deny her the ride, despite Uber’s policy prohibiting riders under 18 from traveling alone unless they use a designated teen account. The family also alleges the driver dropped the teenager off in Brooklyn without confirming she was safe or accompanied by a guardian.
Authorities said the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Ralfy Figueroa, had communicated with the girl online for several months before the alleged attack. Prosecutors said Figueroa threatened the teenager and her family if she refused to meet him. After the girl entered his vehicle, prosecutors allege he sexually assaulted her and recorded the encounter.
Court documents state the suspect later arranged another Uber ride to send the girl home and allegedly canceled the trip after she entered the vehicle. The lawsuit accuses Uber of negligence and claims the company failed to properly enforce safeguards designed to prevent minors from riding alone.
Figueroa was arrested and charged with first-degree rape. He has pleaded not guilty and was being held at Rikers Island on $100,000 bail, according to court records. Prosecutors also said he had previously been participating in an alternative-to-incarceration program tied to a narcotics case and could face additional prison time if that agreement is revoked.
The teenager’s family said she suffered severe emotional trauma and is receiving treatment at an out-of-state mental health facility. Uber called the allegations “incredibly distressing” and said drivers are encouraged to cancel rides involving unaccompanied minors who do not have teen accounts.
Left out from the story is that she was lured via snapchat and flirted with him before. I am not a rabbi nor here to tell anyone how much filtered access one should allow their kids to use. Maybe she wasn’t holding at using just a flip phone. And maybe she snuck it behind her parents back. But the point is, for safety purposes, be on top of your chiilds usage and certaninly if they do have a smart phone and or are using socila media, warn them about these things
Sorry but the blame falls squarely on the parents and the 16 year old not on uber
Terrible for this young girl. I am glad she is getting mental health treatment and that they caught the perpetrator! Suing Uber for this seems a bit of a stretch. I suspect they will settle out of court to avoid costly litigation; however, this is one reason things are so expensive these days – every merchant needs insurance for every potential way they can somehow be tied in to a negative event and be included in the inevitable lawsuit.
Out of curiosity, setting US civil
law aside for a moment, Does anyone know, under Halachah, would the family have a claim against uber for not following its own rules and inadvertently driving the girl to this sicko?
The girl was flirting and family let internet in there house so they should be embarrassed Also sounds like a quick cash grab what shaychus uber
seems like cash grab or find the viable deep pocket but many states and the torah feels a 16 year old is an adult legal, so what liability huh why is uber supposed to protect her? if she was 17 so then NO CASE? she sounds nebech like teenager at risk hopefully the parents take the money from uber settlement and get her therapy
Puuuleeez
Maybe if Smartphones weren’t completely assered by the frum community, this girl would have felt comfortable enough to share what was going on with her parents or teachers. In all likelihood, she had this device without their knowledge. If we don’t take our heads out of the sand, we’ll never be able to deal with reality.