SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida Uber driver was arrested after, police said, he made sexually suggestive comments and inappropriately touched a 15-year-old girl during a ride she requested through the Uber Teens app.
Jose Miguel Perez-Molina appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer, late Wednesday morning.
“You were arrested for lewd and lascivious conduct on a child,” said Glazer.
The 39-year-old was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct on a child younger than 16, according to an arrest report from Sunny Isles Beach Police.
Investigators said the teen requested an Uber on Sunday afternoon from a salon in Aventura to a friend’s home in Sunny Isles Beach. She was picked up by a driver identified in the app as “Jose,” matching Perez-Molina and his Toyota Corolla, the report states.
According to the report, during the ride, Perez-Molina repeatedly asked the victim if she had a boyfriend, called her “pretty,” and questioned her age. When she told him she was 15, he replied that it was “a problem” because he was 39, the report said.
Police said Perez-Molina stopped in a plaza on Collins Avenue while the teen was trying to get the correct address.
While parked, he allegedly turned around, touched her knee, caressed her face and touched a scab on her arm, telling her he could “take care of” her. The teen told detectives the touching was unwanted.
According to the report, Perez-Molina also suggested they park somewhere so he could “teach [her] how to kiss.” The girl said she repeatedly told him she was only 15 and declined.
Fearing the situation would escalate, the victim recorded part of the interaction on her phone. Police said the audio captured Perez-Molina making comments about kissing her and waiting for her despite her age.
According to the report, the teen ran from the vehicle in tears once she arrived at her destination and immediately told a friend and her parents, who contacted police.
Sunny Isles Beach Police officers later showed the victim a photo lineup, and she identified the suspect “without hesitation,” according to the report.
License plate reader hits also placed Perez-Molina’s vehicle in the area at the time of the incident.
Uber released a statement that reads in part:
“What this rider experienced is deeply disturbing… We take reports like this very seriously. We removed the driver’s access to the app as soon as this was reported…”
Perez-Molina was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.
In court Wednesday, Glazer issued a stay-away order to the suspect and she ordered him to refrain from contacting the victim.
“You must stay at least 500 feet away from the victim, her home and school at all times,” she said.
Perez-Molina was given a $7,500 bond. He remains behind bars on an immigration hold.
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