MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) — An Uber driver is facing charges more than a year after investigators say he offered a ride to a Miami tourist and then sexually assaulted the tourist, who passed out in his car.
Uber driver Rafael Martinez, 42, was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on Tuesday, Oct. 21, on charges of sexual assault of an incapacitated victim, according to jail records.
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The incident was first reported to police on January 26, 2024, according to an arrest affidavit. The victim told detectives that he was staying at an Airbnb in the Miami Beach area with a friend. On January 25, 2024, the night the assault was reported, the two had gone to a hotel bar for drinks.
It was around midnight when the victim’s friend decided to return to the Airbnb. The victim stayed behind to finish his drink, the report said. After finishing, the victim went outside to get into his car. That’s when a man approached her and asked if she wanted to take an Uber, the affidavit states.
Investigators said the man, later identified as Martinez, told the victim he would give her a ride and then enter it into the Uber app. The woman got into her car and asked for water, at which point authorities said Martinez handed her an open bottle of Vitamin Water.
Police said the victim remembered feeling “sick and dizzy” after drinking the water, and only remembered seeing a “red light” before passing out.
Authorities say she woke up just long enough to find a man standing over her with alcohol in hand. Officials said he guided the cup to her mouth and she lost consciousness again.
The next thing the victim remembered was waking up in a dark, unfamiliar bedroom with no clothes on, according to the affidavit.
Police said the woman slipped out of the apartment and took an Uber back to her Airbnb, where she told a friend what had happened. She immediately contacted the police and requested a rape kit.
Investigators determined the complex the woman was in was Park Place by the Bay in Miami. Authorities said surveillance video showed the woman and Martinez together at the complex.
A security guard at the apartment complex also recalled an interaction with the woman, who said she appeared drunk and confused and “didn’t know where she was or how she got there,” according to the affidavit.
The administrative assistant admitted that Martinez was the Uber driver and told investigators that he had previously driven her and her family to locations.
Investigators said they received test results from the victim’s rape kit on May 30, 2025, and several months later confirmed that Martinez’s DNA sample matched evidence in the kit.
Police found Martinez in his Miami apartment on October 21 and arrested him. Jail records show he is being held without bail.
