Uber driver accused of kidnapping, exposing himself to passenger

SEATTLE -- A 26-year-old Uber driver has been accused of kidnapping his passenger and exposing himself to her while he was driving her home.

In probable cause court documents, Bellevue police said that a female passenger reported that on May 7, an Uber driver picked her up at the University of Washington to take her to her Bellevue home.

The passenger said the back door of the vehicle was locked and the driver instructed her to sit in the front seat. On the drive toward Bellevue, the passenger said the driver began touching his groin area and she looked out the window. When she turned back, she told police, she saw that he had lowered his pants and had exposed himself.

The passenger told police she looked out the window again to avoid looking at him. She said the driver attempted to give her his phone number and asked for her social media information, she said.

When they reached Interstate 90 at the Factoria exit, the driver got on his cellphone and ended the trip via the Uber app, the passenger said. At that point, the driver told the passenger to go on the Uber app and rate him 5 stars, and she responded that she would not do that until he took her home.

She told police the driver told her then, "I am not driving you home if you don't rate me now."

She said she told him she would rate him once he delivered her home, and he finally relented. When she got home, she called police.

The driver -- who lives in Newcastle -- was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of kidnapping and indecent exposure. He has not been charged yet.