The Uber Driver Accused of Esplanade Assault Has Appeared in Court

Photo by Noel Tock on Flickr/Creative Commons

Mayanja Daudah, the 37-year-old Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger, was ordered held on $100,000 bail Monday, and a judge ruled that if released he would be required to wear a GPS tracking device.

CBS Boston reports Daudah, who lives in Waltham, cried audibly at an arraignment at Boston Municipal Court and a judge had to intervene to get him to stop.

Daudah is accused of digitally raping a female passenger while driving on Storrow Drive early Saturday morning, then pulling over on the Esplanade before assaulting the woman again. State Police say the arrest came after officers were called to an area near the Hatch Shell at around 1:15 a.m. The woman was taken to an area hospital.

Daudah insisted he was innocent in an interview with WCVB.

Police say that ICE has placed a detainer on Mayanja, who is from Uganda, and he may face deportation.

Uber says it has removed Daudah’s access to the app. “What’s been reported is horrible and something no one should ever go through,” the company says in a public statement. “We stand ready to support law enforcement with their investigation.”

Back in 2017, the state launched a new background check protocol for Uber, Lyft, and other similar services, in response to calls from women’s groups for more extensive screening of riders. In the first round, about 8,206 Massachusetts drivers using the app failed, or roughly 13 percent. Of those, 51 were identified as sex offenders, 958 had violent crime offenses on their record, and 352 had sex abuse and exploitation offenses.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: 37 year old Uber driver Daudah Mayanja being transferred from the state police barracks to court, for his arraignment. Mayanja is facing two counts of rape for allegedly sexually assaulting a female Uber passenger Saturday night @wbz pic.twitter.com/x6iMUG7Ep4

— MichelleReneeFisher (@Michelle_WBZ) April 1, 2019