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On Monday, Patrick Aiello, 39, a part-time Uber driver who also works as a social studies teacher at Zucker middle school in Charleston County School District, was taken into custody by the police and now faces charges of kidnapping and “forcible rape” for sexually assaulting a female client on Sunday night.
According to the police report, Aiello kidnapped the woman who asked him to return her home, pulled over the vehicle in a remote location, and sexually assaulted her in the vehicle. After the attack he kicked her out of the car on the highway. The driver was denied bail and he was put on paid leave at school.
The police reported that the accused picked up the victim and an unidentified man from a popular club on Isle of Palms on Sunday night. He dropped off his male client at his home in downtown. The woman also wanted to leave the vehicle but since she was severely intoxicated she asked the driver to drive her to her home a few blocks away.
The Uber driver apparently agreed but when the woman told him that he went past her residence he told her that she had to return the service in sexual favors. The 23-year-old victim reported to the police that she gave him money and begged him to let her go. But the driver became furious and claimed the sexual favors. He soon stopped the car, immobilized the woman and sexually attacked her.
Moments later he threw her out of the car, but as she ran away on the highway another vehicle struck her. She told ER staffers what happened and that she was trying to get help as she ran on Savannah Highway.
The police said that they had no updates on the woman’s condition. They only said that she was hospitalized at Medical University Hospital and that she managed to identify the driver in a photo lineup.
A day later, Aiello was taken into custody and admitted to accusations of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the woman. He even provided police officers with details that the woman was unable to recall. The victim could only remember that she was attacked and saw the driver on top of her. In the police report the assault was deemed “forcible rape.”
Uber announced Tuesday that the man was no longer listed as a driver on their ride-sharing app. The company also said that it would collaborate with the police to help them solve the case.
Image Source: Counton2
