UberX driver charged with sexually assaulting male passenger

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Another Uber driver is accused of sexually assaulting a customer. Adnan Nafasat allegedly overpowered a man he picked up as an UberX driver in Boystown on Chicago's North Side.

Nafasat, 46, of Villa Park, is charged with attempted criminal sexual assault/force, unlawful restraint and kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Nafasat picked up the 21-year-old male passenger in the 700-block of West Cornelia Avenue in the early morning on July 31, 2014. Prosecutors said Nafasat told his 21-year-old victim to get in the front seat of his car because the back seat was broken.

Then, Nafasat is accused of groping and choked his passenger. After driving to an unknown neighborhood, Nafasat allegedly became more aggressive, kissing and putting his fingers in the man's mouth, exposing himself, and trying to force the man into a sex act, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say Nafasat, a married father of three, ended the attack after the passenger begged him to stop.

Uber said in a statement: "Our thoughts are with the victim of this horrible incident. We immediately removed the driver from our platform upon learning of the allegations and have been assisting authorities with the investigation."

Nafasat, who owns a business but drove with the ridesharing program to supplement his income, was ordered held on $150,000 bail.

Two weeks ago, former Uber driver Maxime Fohounhedo was accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger in Albany Park. An ABC7 I-Team investigation uncovered what appears to be a loophole in Uber's background check system. Prosecutors say Fohounhedo was sharing his wife's profile and Uber account, which is against the company's policy. Uber admitted Fohounhedo had never been officially vetted and was never officially a driver. But initially Uber told the I-Team the suspect had been removed from the Uber platform.

His arrest prompted Uber to announce a safety review. The company's background checks on drivers are being questioned by the taxi drivers' union.

"I had a passenger who said his brother was driving Uber. He wanted to get a chauffeur's license, but he couldn't pass the drug test, so he went and drove Uber," said Cheryl Regina Miller, Cab Drivers United-AFSCME.

Prosecutors say records provided by Uber led authorities to Nafasat, but it's unclear why it took five and a half months to charge him. It was in July that Uber says it removed him from its service. The company says it's been fully cooperative with police.