Uber driver accused of raping teenage girl after picking her up outside Melbourne nightclub

A “predatory” Uber driver allegedly raped a teenage girl in the back seat of his car moments after she desperately texted her friend asking for help, a court has heard.

A man has been charged after a teenage girl was allegedly raped in the back of an Uber. File image.

A “predatory” Uber driver allegedly raped a teenage girl in the back seat of his car before giving her $70 and leaving her stranded on the side of the road, a court has heard.

Father of one Mohamad Yahiya, 44, was denied bail in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday night where it was heard he picked up the teenage girl outside a nightclub on Flinders St, in the CBD, in the early hours of June 3.

CCTV footage shows the complainant sitting on the corner of Flinders St at 1.40am, where she stayed for about four minutes.

Mr Yahiya, from Pakenham, allegedly approached the girl in his white Toyota Camry which had a sticker identifying it as a rideshare vehicle.

According to court documents, the teenage girl did not recall whether she had ordered an Uber and got in the car after Mr Yahiya allegedly asked if she needed a ride.

She later told police she had been drinking but was not drunk.

Police allege Mr Yahiya then drove the girl to Batman St, six to seven minutes away, where he parked the car before holding up a condom and said: “Do you mind?”

The court heard the girl was not physically forced into the car or back seat, but feared what would happen to her if she did not comply.

Mr Yahiy allegedly approached the girl in his white Toyota Camry which had a sticker identifying it as a rideshare vehicle. Picture: Robyn Beck / AFP

CCTV cameras tracked the car’s movements through the city, with footage capturing Mr Yahiya and the girl getting out of the vehicle to move to the back seat.

Mr Yahiya allegedly said to the girl “it won’t take long, I’ll finish really fast”, to which she did not reply.

Police allege he then raped her at about 1.50am before giving her $50, which she told police offended and confused her.

She then asked Mr Yahiya to drive her home, but he refused and gave her another $20.

A friend of the girl told police she had received a text from the complainant that said “help plz” between the time she got into the Uber and the time of the alleged rape.

Mr Yahiya was arrested at his home on June 6 before he was charged with rape and false imprisonment.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Harvey, who opposed Mr Yahiya being granted bail, said the complainant was “traumatised” by the incident and was “terrified” he would be freed.

Constable Harvey said there was a risk the accused, a Rohingya refugee on a bridging visa who has lived in Australia for 10 years, could obtain a fake passport and flee the country.

The court heard he has a wife and 12-year-old daughter living in the Philippines.

Mr Yahiya’s defence lawyer argued his client was willing to comply with bail conditions and would surrender his passport.

But magistrate Gregory Robinson, deeming Mr Yahiya both a flight risk and a danger to the community, denied him bail.

“A young female clearly is a vulnerable person and for a man in his 40s to offer to take her home and then propose sex … the predatory nature of the offending is such I do consider him a risk to other women in the community,” he said.

Constable Harvey said Uber had suspended Mr Yahiya’s account following the police investigation.

He will return to court at a later date.