An 51-year-old Uber driver of Cuban origin was arrested in Hialeah, accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a 63-year-old woman he had met during a trip on the platform, according to reports from local media in Miami.
Joe Luis Suárez Pozo, a resident of Miami, was arrested by agents from the Hialeah Police Community Response Team on East 53rd Street and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight (TGK) Correctional Center on a charge of sexual assault.
How did the alleged assault occur?
According to the arrest report cited by Telemundo 51, the victim's daughter had requested an Uber for her mother to travel from Hialeah to Boca Raton to take care of her granddaughter, and Suárez Pozo was the assigned driver.
During the journey, they exchanged phone numbers for future rides.
Days later, the accused contacted the woman, told her he was near her house, and invited her for coffee. She accepted because she considered him, according to the police report, "a good person."
Instead of taking her to a café, Suárez Pozo drove to Victor Wilde Park, located at 1701 W. 53rd Terrace, where he stopped.
He jumped on her while she was in the passenger seat, touched and kissed her without her consent, and forced her to touch his genitals.
When the woman attempted to escape by getting out of the vehicle, the accused followed her and forced her to get into the back seat, where he sexually assaulted her, and then took her back to her house.
The victim took months to report it
The alleged assault occurred in February 2026, but the victim did not come forward to the police until July 2, five months later.
The spokesperson for the Hialeah Police, Eddie Rodriguez, explained that the woman was deeply traumatized and sought professional help before reporting.
"She sought professional assistance and, fortunately, that person convinced her to take the step," said Rodriguez.
According to the arrest report, the statements made by Suárez Pozo during the interrogation matched the victim's account, which led to his formal arrest.
This Tuesday, Suárez Pozo appeared before the Miami-Dade judge, Mindy Glazer, who found probable cause in the case and set bail at $7,500.
Uber expels the driver and the police are searching for more victims
Uber confirmed that it expelled Suárez Pozo from its platform, although it clarified that the incident did not occur during an active trip in the app.
"Although this did not happen during an Uber ride, we are outraged by this report and have banned the driver from the platform. Uber is deeply committed to safety and we are ready to assist authorities with their investigation in any way we can," said a company spokesperson.
The Hialeah Police also made a public appeal to potential additional victims to contact investigators.
"Now I am worried that there may be other victims," warned Rodriguez.
This case adds to a series of incidents involving ride-sharing platform drivers in the Miami area.
In June of this year, another Uber driver was arrested in Doral, accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a passenger picked up in Miami Beach.
In response to these incidents, Uber announced that same month a tightening of its background checks, extending the search to up to 99 years of criminal history linked to the driver's Social Security number, a measure that came into effect on June 29.
The case of Suárez Pozo, however, raises a question that these measures do not fully address: what responsibility do the platforms have when their drivers use the contact established through the app to commit crimes outside of it?
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