ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (AP) – Authorities say a former Lyft ride-hailing driver is accused of twice sexually assaulting a female passenger in suburban Chicago.
The Chicago Tribune reports 34-year-old Alexander Sowa of Wheeling is due in court Tuesday on sexual assault and kidnapping charges. Police in Mount Prospect say the female passenger escaped Sowa’s vehicle and called authorities. Mount Prospect police say they arrested Sowa on Thursday, the same day as the attack.
Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton says Sowa is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail after appearing Saturday before a judge who ordered Sowa participate in electronic monitoring.
Lyft said Sowa was permanently banned from its community and that it reached out to the woman “to express our support.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if Sowa had an attorney.
