Uber driver locks passenger in car and sexually assaults her, Oregon police say

An Oregon man working as an Uber driver was arrested and accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a female passenger, Medford police say.

A 21-year-old woman says she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted Sunday by her Uber driver, a police news release said. When police arrived, the man was no longer there.

Antonio Gonzalez-Salinas, 51, was arrested Monday on charges including kidnapping, sex abuse, harassment and attempted rape, police said.

Medford police say the woman was out with friends early Sunday morning, and her friends called an Uber to take her to a different friend’s house. The Uber driver arrived in a Lexus at 1:29 a.m., according to the police report.

About 15 minutes later, the victim’s friends said the woman had not arrived at her destination. They called her phone several times, and eventually the Uber driver answered the call, the news release said.

“The driver claimed that he was having trouble finding her house,” police said. “Repeated attempts to call the victim were not answered.”

By 2:07 a.m., the victim’s friends and a relative had tracked her phone and discovered it was about two blocks away. They found the victim in the back of the Lexus, crying and upset. The driver had fled the scene, police say.

“The friends learned of the sexual assault and called police,” police said. “Detectives further determined that the driver was repeatedly locking the doors as he was sexually assaulting her.”

Gonzalez-Salinas was then arrested Tuesday at his home. The victim’s phone was also recovered from his house and additional evidence was seized, police say.

Medford police said detectives have reached out to Uber as part of the investigation.

“What has been described is awful and something no one should ever have to go through,” an Uber spokesman said in an email to The Oregonian on Wednesday. “We’re cooperating with law enforcement to support their investigation.”

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Uber driver locks passenger in car and sexually assaults her, Oregon police say."