A London man is accused of offering teenage girls picked up through a ride-sharing service money in exchange for sexual services.
The group of five teens requested the ride in the north end of the city from the ride-sharing company Uber shortly after midnight on June 24.
While on the way to their requested destination, the man driving the vehicle began chatting with the teens and eventually offered them cash in exchange for sexual service, London police said.
The girls were dropped off without further incident. However, the following day, the driver allegedly called two of the girls and again offered them money for sexual services.
The incident was reported to police on June 28 and on Tuesday Bradley William Turner, 55, of London was arrested.
None of the teens were physically hurt.
He has since been charged with three counts each of obtaining sexual services for consideration from a person under 18 years of age and invitation to sexual touching of a person under 16 years of age. The man is scheduled to appear in London court in relation to the charge on August 4.
In a statement provided to LondonNewsToday.ca, an Uber spokesperson confirmed that Turner is no longer a driver for the company.
“What the rider described to police is deeply disturbing. We take reports of sexual assault very seriously and once we learned of this incident, we immediately removed the driver's access to the Uber platform," the statement from Uber read. "We’ve been in touch with law enforcement and remain committed to assisting with their investigation."
Police believe there may be other victims and are asking anyone who had a similar dealing with a ride-share driver to call them at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
This is the second incident in nearly two weeks of a ride-sharing service driver being charged with sexual related offences.
On June 26, a woman reported she was sexual assaulted by an Uber driver while on the way to her requested destination. She managed to escape the vehicle and flag down a passerby for help. A 67-year-old man was charged with forcible confinement and sexual assault in that incident. Uber confirmed a few days later it had terminated the driver.