DENVER | A former Denver Uber driver accused of taking advantage of a passenger who fell asleep after a night of drinking is being prosecuted for sexual assault.
Police allege that Luis Galeano-Bedon, 43, who was charged Thursday, assaulted a 24-year-old woman as he drove her and a friend from a club to their hotel on Halloween night.
According to court documents, Galeano-Bedon also drove the women to the club earlier in the night and gave them his cell phone number so he could pick them up when they wanted to leave.
On the return trip, police say one of the women became sick and he invited her to sit in the front seat so she could be near the window. Both women moved to the front and nodded off. One of them said she awoke to find the driver touching her and that he allegedly followed them to their hotel room.
According to the documents, Galeano-Bedon told police the women were very drunk but denied any sexual contact. He didn’t respond to a message seeking comment but his lawyer, David Suro, said he believes his client is innocent.
“I believe that when we fully investigate all of the allegations, that will be proven,” he said.
Uber said Galeano-Bedon is no longer driving for the service and that it is cooperating with police in the investigation.
He is the second Uber driver to be charged with a crime in Denver this year.
In April, Gerald Montgomery, a driver for the lower-cost UberX service, was charged with attempted second-degree burglary for allegedly trying to break into the home of a passenger he had just dropped off at the airport. Police say he ran after one of the passenger’s roommates spotted him.
bet you there will be another case for him, where a woman jumped from his car on colo blvd about 5 days ago.