An Uber driver has avoided jail after masturbating behind the wheel in front of a terrified female passenger.
Tayla Pimlott, 26, was taking a 20-minute trip from Adelaide’s CBD to her home in the north-eastern 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 behaviour ‘namely in an Uber vehicle so as to offend or insult another person’.
He pleaded guilty at the Adelaide Magistrates Court in March.
He was sentenced to four weeks jail, but it was suspended and Fazeli is now on a $500, 18-month good behaviour bond.
Tayla Pimlott, 26, (pictured) was taking a short trip in Adelaide one afternoon in October when she noticed the Uber driver masturbating behind the wheel
The experience has left Ms Pimlott scared to leave her house and she has sworn off using Uber ever again.
Ms Pimlott said she had been in the back seat scrolling through her phone when she noticed a ‘subtle hand gesture’ that made her look up, and was instantly ‘petrified’.
‘I could see clearly that [the Uber driver] had his penis out and he was masturbating,’ she told Yahoo.
Ms Pimlott said she was so scared of what could happen that she considered jumping out of 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.
She was also able to capture footage of Fazeli which she used as evidence to police.
Ms Pimlott said her heart was pounding, but she pretended not to have noticed anything out of fear that would escalate the situation.
When she arrived home, where her worried mother was waiting for her, she had to ask Fazeli to unlock the car doors.
‘He fully turned around and looked at me and in the most creepiest voice I’ve ever heard he goes, “Thank you so much”,’ she said.
A mortified Ms Pimlott replied, ‘You’re welcome,’ and jumped out of the car, afraid that being anything but polite would put her in more danger.
Uber condemned the driver’s actions in a statement to Daily Mail Australia (stock image)
Ms Pimlott said she messaged her mother because she was petrified
She reported the incident to Uber and urged them to ban the driver but the company was unable to tell her if that happened because of its ‘strict privacy notice’.
The company since confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that he was permanently banned.
Fazeli has also been banned from visiting Ms Pimlot at home or work.
Uber condemned the driver’s actions in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
‘What’s been reported has no place in the Uber community or anywhere else,’ a spokesman said.
‘As soon as we were notified of this report, we removed the driver partner’s access to the app immediately and permanently.
‘We have raised the bar for safety across the industry, including investing in cutting-edge technology and features to help improve safety for riders and drivers on every trip.
‘Using our Safety Toolkit, riders can contact emergency services, share their trip live with a loved one and every trip is GPS tracked in real time.
‘We are continually looking for ways to improve safety for every ride, and leverage this safety technology to support law enforcement cases.’
