(Image source from: eveningtimes.co.uk)

Dallas:
The trial for an Uber driver accused of raping a passenger began on Tuesday with defense attorney claiming that the sexual activity was consensual.

Talal Ali Chammout, 59, a Uber driver after picking up a woman in Oak Lawn on July 25, 2015 sexually assaulted her while driving back to her spot.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the woman asked Chammout to leave, but he hit her on the back of the head resulting in unconsciousness. When she woke up the next morning, she was unclothed and had a large bump on the back of her head and scrapes on her knees.

Prosecutor Trey Stock said, "The woman trusted him to get her home safely,” though she says the driver Chammout followed into her home, knocking her unconscious. So, the authorities proclaimed saying there’s no manner of woman’s consent.  

Chammout, who is from Lebanon has been on the loose on bond while awaiting trial.

There have been many another allegations on Chammout in the previous records, including sexual assaults and served time in federal prison on a weapons charge.

The court records also show that he sexually assaulted his wife in 2004, by striking her on the back of the head with a piece of steel cloaked in a cloth.

According to Uber, Chammout was erroneously permitted to drive for the company despite his account being marked as “will not be driving” when he signed up on Uber in January 2014.

The rideshare company on Tuesday proclaimed saying it will no longer force into arbitration passengers who allege they’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted.

Dallas attorney Quentin Brogdon, who has represented women in two other cases against Uber, called the policy change a "meaningful first step" away from secret arbitration.


By Sowmya Sangam