Lawsuit accuses Uber driver of trafficking 12, 13-year-old girls in South Carolina

ROCK HILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Two York County families are seeking change after their under-aged daughters were kidnapped and sexually assaulted.

They’re blaming Uber — the highly used rideshare app.

“One afternoon last year, an Uber driver picked up our clients — a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old girl from their neighborhood in South Carolina,” said Tracey Cowan with the Clarkson Law Firm and head of the sexual assault practice area.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys say the parents were not aware of the trip. They claim the 12- and 13-year-olds told the driver they were underaged, but the driver continued with the trip from Rock Hill to a North Carolina town.

“The girls were given drugs, and the 12-year-old was raped, struck, repeatedly, spit on,” Cowan said. “And the whole thing was filmed on the rapist’s phone, which he later sent around when he was done. He simply ordered another Uber. That second Uber driver drove the girls back home again without raising any concerns.”

The lawsuit names Fayvion Jarrod Williams as the alleged trafficker. Facebook messages between one of the girls and Williams show the reason for the meet-up was for sex. Williams instructed the minor girl to tell the Uber driver he was the girl’s father.

“The horrific and tragic situation that occurred was made possible by Uber,” Cowan said.

The company says children younger than 18 are not permitted to ride in an Uber unless they are “accompanied by someone 18 or older.” Drivers are supposed to decline the trip if they’re unsure of the rider’s age.

“What the families would like is for Uber to step up, take responsibility, and enact a few safety measures such as mandatory anti-trafficking training for all drivers,” Cowan said, adding that Uber should have a “zero-tolerance policy for transporting unaccompanied minors.”

The families believe Uber and its drivers violate the South Carolina human trafficking code.

“The statute at issue here really does make anyone culpable who participates in a trafficking venture and receives something of value in exchange for participating in that venture,” she said. “And that’s exactly what happened here.”

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Williams was charged in North Carolina and South Carolina. He entered a guilty plea and was convicted of statutory rape of a minor under 15, as well as sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree. He was sentenced to serve six to eight years in prison with a minimum of five years; his charges in South Carolina are pending.

Uber’s response to the lawsuit: The details of this incident are horrific. We take our role helping 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. We are committed to partnering with experts to help combat this issue, and our Global Investigations team works hand in hand with law enforcement to help bring suspected traffickers to justice. In addition, we’ve partnered with state Attorneys General to develop digital content to help drive awareness even further. Our work to help shine a light on human trafficking is never done, and we remain committed to being part of the solution.”

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