A man who hailed an Uber to give him a ride home was arrested after allegedly masturbating in the vehicle and leaving the resulting sticky mess in the back seat.
On the evening of January 27, an Uber driver picked up a man who requested a ride from Tampa to his home in St. Petersburg. The driver, who does not speak English, retrieved the 46-year-old. Another individual was also sitting in one of the back seats, but their identity and reason for being there was not disclosed in the police report.
According to reports, in the middle of the ride to his house, the man pulled out his privates and began sexually pleasuring himself in the car. After allegedly masturbating to completion, he reportedly left the vehicle without cleaning up the mess.
The authorities were notified about the event and began investigating the claim. When the police talked to the driver and the third party from the car, they both gave similar accounts of what happened during the ride. The driver reported that he couldn’t effectively get the rider to stop what he was doing because of the language barrier. He also reportedly showed the police a video of the incident that he recorded with his cell phone.
Using the contents of the video, the police believed they were able to identify the suspect, and they obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Five days after the incident reportedly occurred, the man was taken into custody by the St. Petersburg Police Department. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail for one misdemeanor count of exposure of sexual organs, and he was released on his own recognizance.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a sexual offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.