Man allegedly posed as rideshare driver and sexually assaulted woman in Miami Beach – NBC 6 South Florida

Miami Beach police arrested a man this week and accused him of posing as a rideshare driver and sexually assaulting a woman in February.

According to investigators, the woman left a nightclub on Collins Avenue and ordered an Uber bike. Claudel Lesperance told the woman he was her driver, and when she asked him for confirmation, Lesperance canceled her assigned ride over her phone, according to a police report.

Police said the woman was drunk and told investigators she was in and out of consciousness throughout the trip. When she eventually woke up, Lesperance sexually assaulted her in the back seat, the police report said. He then took her money and ordered her to leave.

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Police arrested Lesperance on Thursday after tests showed his DNA was found on the victim’s clothing.

“There is no evidence that he did anything like that,” Lesperance’s attorney said. “As for her memory, I don’t know how poor it was judged to be in terms of what happened before she got into my client’s vehicle.”

The police report said investigators reviewed surveillance video from a camera outside the club and saw Lesperance apparently watching people coming and going. He then saw the woman and allegedly became fixated on her.

This is not the first case of someone posing as a rideshare driver in South Florida.

Earlier this year, according to Miami Beach police, Danny Maurad-Avecillas posed as a woman’s Uber driver and picked up drunk women before allegedly drugging and attacking them.

Last October, Yadir Alejandro Gongora was arrested and charged with sexual assault and robbery after two women mistook his SUV for their Uber.

Lesperance remains in jail without bail. His hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.