Uber and a former driver are being sued by a Lafayette woman who claims the driver picked her up from a downtown Lafayette bar and followed her into her apartment where he allegedly raped her.
The former Uber driver, Maurice Racca, 55, of Youngsville, has been charged by the 15th Judicial District Attorney's Office with second-degree rape and aggravated burglary in connection with the incident.
He was arrested Oct. 1, 2017, according to court documents.
The woman is not named in the criminal charge or the civil lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 1, 2017, the woman was at a Jefferson Street bar, drinking with friends. When the bar closed, she used the Uber mobile app to arrange a ride home.
Racca, employed by Uber at the time, arrived at the bar and opened the door to the front seat of his truck for her, the lawsuit states.
The woman claims she fell asleep during the ride and, when she woke up, Racca was assaulting her. According to the lawsuit, she got out of the truck and rushed into her apartment, but he followed her in where he "imprisoned her and committed sexual assault, sexual battery, rape and battery" upon her.
"As a result of the attack," the lawsuit alleges, she "suffered permanent physical and mental injuries that required and continue to require medical treatment."
Uber, the lawsuit alleges, "is vicariously liable" for the attack and damages.