An Uber driver avoided jail after masturbating behind the wheel in front of a terrified female passenger.
Tayla Pimlott, 26, was making a 20-minute trip from Adelaide’s CBD to her home in the northeastern suburb of Campbelltown on October 1 when she suddenly noticed the driver pleasuring himself in the front seat.
The 29-year-old driver, Rahman Fazeli, was charged with indecent behavior “specifically, in an Uber vehicle to offend or insult another person.”
He pleaded guilty in the Adelaide Magistrates Court in March.
He was sentenced to four weeks in jail, but it was suspended and Fazeli is now on $500 bail and 18 months for good behavior.
Tayla Pimlott, 26 (pictured), was taking a short trip in Adelaide one October afternoon when she noticed the Uber driver masturbating behind the wheel.
The experience has left Pimlott afraid to leave his house and he has given up on using Uber ever again.
Pimlott said she was in the back seat checking her phone when she noticed a “subtle hand gesture” that made her look up and she was instantly “petrified.”.
‘I could clearly see that [the Uber driver] “They took out his penis and he was masturbating,” he said. yahoo.
Pimlott said she was so scared of what might happen that she considered jumping from the moving vehicle.
“There was a part of me that thought, ‘Oh, God, I could die, I could be raped, this man could touch me,'” she said.
Putting her safety first, she texted her mother and boyfriend.
He was also able to capture images of Fazeli which he used as evidence before the police.
Pimlott said his heart was pounding, but he pretended not to notice anything for fear the situation would get worse.
When she arrived home, where her worried mother was waiting for her, she had to ask Fazeli to open the car doors.
“He turned around completely and looked at me and in the creepiest voice I’ve ever heard he said, ‘Thank you so much,'” he said.
A mortified Mrs Pimlott replied: “You’re welcome” and jumped out of the car, fearing anything less polite would put her in further danger.
Uber condemned the driver’s actions in a statement to Daily Mail Australia (file image)
Pimlott said she texted her mother because she was petrified.
She reported the incident to Uber and urged them to ban the driver, but the company couldn’t tell her if that happened because of its “strict privacy notice.”
The company has since confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that it was permanently suspended.
Fazeli has also been banned from visiting Pimlot at his home or work.
Uber condemned the driver’s actions in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
“What has been reported has no place in the Uber community or anywhere else,” a spokesperson said.
‘As soon as we were notified of this report, we removed the driver’s access to the app immediately and permanently.
‘We’ve raised the bar for safety across the industry, including investing in cutting-edge technology and features to help improve passenger and driver safety on every trip.
‘Using our safety toolkit, passengers can contact emergency services, share their journey live with a loved one and each journey is tracked by GPS in real time.
“We continually look for ways to improve safety on every ride and leverage this safety technology to support law enforcement cases.”