A 15-year-old girl in Nassau County was leaving a sweet 16 party when she requested an Uber ride. She was picked up in Atlantic Beach and directed to sit in the front seat by the driver.
It is alleged that 32-year-old Sean Williams picked up the teenager at approximately 11:15 p.m. on Friday, July 12 and was supposed to drive her to Merrick. He instead attempted to convince her to go to his Brooklyn home and out drinking, despite her protestations and noting she was underage.
"He kept asking me, like, if I wanted to go out for drinks with him sometime," the victim told ABC News. "And I said, "No, because I'm 15. I can't go out to drinks.' And, like, I just want to get home. But he kept, you know, insisting on that.
"It's hard for me to open up and, like, trust people now," the victim said. "Because I put trust in that I would be able to get home safely. And I was not able to get home safely that night."
The teenager was reportedly able to convince Williams that she had to use the bathroom and got him to pull over at a McDonalds, at which point she called the police.
Williams was arrested and charged with two felony kidnapping counts, child endangerment and unlawful imprisonment. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison on the top charges. He remains released on a $150,000 bail.
"My client adamantly denies doing anything of any nature that can be construed as criminal," an attorney for Williams said in a statement. "The facts and circumstances as alleged leave much to be debated at trial which my client is looking forward to."
“The girl was terrorized by the defendant’s alleged behavior and bravely took action to contact police and free herself,” the DA said in a statement.
In a statement released Thursday, Aug. 22, Uber said, “What has been reported is deeply alarming and the driver’s access to the app has been removed. We stand ready to cooperate with law enforcement.”
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