A 38-year-old rideshare driver faces charges of sexual assault of a minor after being accused of assaulting a 13-year-old rider in May.
Shengfu Wu, 38, was working for Lyft when he allegedly picked up a 13-year-old girl as a passenger and sexually assaulted her in the early hours of May 13, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department. The girl told police she was sexually assaulted soon after the ride and Wu was arrested the next day, according to the release.
Prior to the ride, the girl had been with friends at a park in Aurora, according to the arrest affidavit. She used another person’s Lyft account to request the ride at about 1:45 a.m. Police used the Lyft receipt to find Wu.
Lyft requires passengers to be 18 or older to sign up for an account and states that drivers may cancel trips if a passenger is under 18 years of age, and may ask riders to confirm their age.
Wu told police the passenger told him she was 18, according to the affidavit. He also told police he pulled the vehicle over and then had sexual contact he believed was consensual with her, according to the affidavit.
Wu has been charged in Arapahoe County District Court with a class four felony, which is punishable by up to six years in prison. He has been released on a $50,000 bond.
Wu’s attorney, Ryan Robertson, with Robinson & Henry, noted the seriousness of the allegations, and that his client had “fully cooperated” with the investigation.
“Our client remains innocent until proven guilty,” Robertson said. “These are obviously extraordinarily serious, extraordinarily inflamed charges. Certainly, anytime there’s any sort of allegation of a crime against a minor, that causes people, I think generally, to rush to judgment. Our client fully cooperated with the investigation here, and we look forward to our client having his day in court.”
A spokesperson for Lyft called the allegations “reprehensible” and said the company permanently banned Wu from the platform. They said the company has been in contact with law enforcement to help with the investigation.
Aurora police believe there may be others who had unwanted sexual contact from Wu and asks possible victims to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Robertson, Wu’s attorney, said he had not been provided with any information to substantiate that concern.
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