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| Adnan Nafasat faced 20 felony charges in connection with the attack that took place while he was driving for Uber. |
A 49-year-old male Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old male passenger that he picked up in Boystown in July 2014 has been sentenced to 30 months of sex offender probation after pleading guilty to a single count of criminal sexual abuse while threatening the life of the victim.
Adnan Nafasat had faced 20 felony counts in a grand jury true bill, including six counts of Class X felony aggravated kidnapping, three felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault; three felony counts of criminal sexual abuse; seven felony counts of aggravated battery; and one felony count of unlawful restraint. The state dropped nineteen of those counts Friday in a plea deal overseen by Judge Angela Petrone.
Nafasat picked up his victim early on July 31, 2014, in the 700 block of West Cornelia in Boystown, prosecutors said. He convinced the man to sit in his minivan’s front passenger seat, claiming that the back seats were dirty and broken, according to court filings. After turning off the Uber tracking app, Nafasat allegedly told the victim, “No one knows where you are” and then began assaulting the man as he drove on Roosevelt Road.
“At times, when [Nafasat] had to stop his vehicle, he would grab the victim by the face and throat to prevent him from exiting…The offender also pulled down his own pants” and attempted to force the victim to perform a sex act, prosecutors said. The victim was also choked and had Nafasat’s tongue, and fingers forcibly shoved down his throat during the ride, according to allegations made in the case.
In November 2016, CWBChicago was first to report that prosecutors found evidence that two previous Uber passengers had filed complaints against Nafasat before the 21-year-old man was attacked. Despite those complaints, Nafasat was allowed to continue driving for the company.
Nafasat’s reported behavior before the alleged sexual assault was not illegal, but “show[s] his intent and state of mind toward young male passengers…and [shows his] propensity to be sexually inappropriate and opportunistic with young male passengers,” prosecutors said in a 2016 court filing.
In February 2014, about 5 months before the alleged attack, Nafasat picked up a young male Uber customer in Boystown, just one block from where he would later pick up the sexual abuse victim, prosecutors said. Nafasat “inappropriately inquired…about sexual positions” in a way that prompted the passenger to ask Nafasat to let him out of the car before they reached their destination. The passenger filed a complaint about Nafasat’s behavior with Uber via client feedback, prosecutors said.
Then, about three weeks before he would allegedly assault the 21-year-old, Nafasat picked up another young male Uber customer in Logan Square. During the ride to Lincoln Park, Nafasat “inappropriately inquired…as to what [the customer] liked sexually and what his sexual preference was,” prosecutors said in their motion. Once again, the passenger filed a complaint through Uber’s client feedback, the state said, but Nafasat continued to drive for the company.
Uber declined to comment for our 2016 report citing “pending litigation.”
Nafasat was married with three children at the time of the incident that concluded with Friday’s plea deal. In addition to 30 months of sex offender probation, Nafasat was sentenced to two days of time served and was fined $1,264
