Man met minors online, ordered Uber to take them across county lines, lawsuit claims

A suspect is accused of grooming young girls he met online in November 2023 before arranging a meeting, according to a lawsuit.

What is human trafficking and how does it impact our communities?

He ordered the two victims, who were 12 years old, an Uber down the street from their York County homes, the lawsuit claims. The Uber driver took them across state lines in Gaston County.

The lawsuit alleges one of them was sexually assaulted while the other was forced to hear her friend suffer.

“I want to be clear that this is on Uber to stop,” said Tracey Cowan, the attorney for the families of the victims. “Uber knows this is happening.”

Cowan said the girls have been “completely devastated.”

“They both had to drop out of school,” Cowan said. “They both have pretty much isolated in their homes. Their parents have had to change every aspect of their lives to try and support and protect their daughters.”

The suspect’s arrangement to pick up the girls in a ride-share does happen,” the attorney said.

“So, what happens in a lot of cases like our case, is that perps are meeting children online, oftentimes, through social media and then they say, ‘I’m just going to send you an Uber,’ and then they are able to send a car. They don’t even have to go, themselves.”

Cowan said that Uber has not done enough to protect victims and that the company’s driver-training on the subject is lacking.

Uber said in a statement to Channel 9:

“The details of this incident are horrific. We take out role to combat human trafficking seriously and have spent years investing in prevention efforts including providing every driver with educational resources on how to identify the signs of human trafficking and report suspected cases.”

“The parents did not know, and their parents were not with them,” Cowan said. “The girls told the Uber driver that they were underage and still he drove them an hour away across state lines.”

The attorneys would like to see Uber require parental permission for all young riders.

Click here to learn about Uber’s safety guidelines.

VIDEO: RESOURCES: Eradicating human trafficking from our communities