Lyft driver rapes Texas tourist in the backseat of his car in Miami Beach, authorities say
A Texas woman visiting Miami Beach told cops she was raped by her Lyft driver inside his car before dawn over the weekend, authorities said Wednesday.
Kevyn Rojas, a 26-year-old Miami man, is charged with sexual battery on a physically helpless victim, a Miami Beach police arrest report shows. Rojas remained in jail as of Wednesday night, according to Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation’s website
A judge set Rojas’ bond at $500,000 and ordered him to stay away from the woman in addition to relinquishing his passport, court records show.
“The allegations are that he raped her,” a state prosecutor said at the hearing.
The woman was enjoying an evening with a friend Saturday night at a Wynwood bar — where she later became sick and started vomiting while leaving, the report said. She called a Lyft, a ride-share app, and soon her driver, Rojas, arrived to pick her up in a Mitsubishi Galant.
Around 4:20 a.m. Sunday, she got in his back seat and said Rojas made a comment about her blue dress in Spanish. She fell asleep and woke up to Rojas’ phone pinging that they were at the Berkeley Shore Hotel, where she was staying, the report said.
She looked up and saw they arrived at Berkeley Shore, but told police that Rojas began to drive away. After driving around, he parked the car and hopped in the backseat with her while she was still lying down. He then began pulling up her dress and taking off her underwear against her will, the report said.
She repeatedly told him no and tried to stop his sexual advances, but police said she was too intoxicated to fight him off.
After several minutes, he stopped and subsequently dropped the victim off back at her hotel, where she called the police shortly thereafter.
He’s now permanently banned from using the Lyft app, a spokesperson said Wednesday in an email, calling the described behavior “appalling.”
“We stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation in any way we can,” the spokesperson said.
Rojas’ appointed attorney, Nicole Vera, could not immediately be reached for comment. His next court hearing had not yet been scheduled, court records show.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 8:40 PM.
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)