An Uber driver was arrested Sunday and admitted to the rape of a 22-year-old San Antonio woman, San Antonio police say.
First reported by the San Antonio Express-News, Gabriel Vasquez was driving for Uber in October when the incident occurred. Uber removed him as a driver on the app shortly after the victim reported the incident. According to the affidavit, Vasquez first denied having sex with the victim and later admitted to it.
The crime was not disclosed to the San Antonio City Council before their Dec. 8 vote to maintain the current deal with ride hailing companies that makes fingerprint background checks voluntary.
"Have we had any incidents recorded from ride share and TNCs reported to the police department?" asked District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran.
"No ma'am," Chief William McManus replied.
According to police spokesman Jesse Salame, the chief had no knowledge of the incident at the time, and McManus only heard about the crime on Saturday.
Salame says their crime tracking process didn't flag allegations. He says SAPD instituted a more formal tracking system for any and all allegations against ride hailing companies, making them the only group flagged.
Vasquez was charged with second-degree felony sexual assault. He was taken to the Bexar County Jail and was being held there as if Sunday.
