Woman's Family Rescues Her from Uber Driver Who Used App to Aid Sexual Assault: Sheriff

Police were initially called to the scene of the crime due to reports of a weapons violation, according to a statement released by the Thurston County Sheriff's office, but they arrived to find a far more complicated situation unfolding.

As they arrived, a deputy was informed a vehicle was seen fleeing the area. The vehicle was intercepted, at which point they discovered the driver "had sustained injuries from a disturbance," with shell casings in the area of the "weapons violation." According to the Post, he was bleeding extensively from his head and hands, enough to warrant medical intervention.

The Sheriff's office said their deputies quickly determined the weapons violation was a result of the real victim's father discovering "her being sexually assaulted by the rideshare driver." According to the statement, "shots were fired" at some point during the altercation.

According to a sheriff's report via KOMO News, investigators said the victim's friend ordered her an Uber ride because she was too drunk to stay out as they went to another bar. They reported seeing her get into Ali's car at 12:17 a.m. on Saturday morning. At 12:31, the friend said the app showed the victim get dropped off at an address which was not her home.

Her friends showed up at her house approximately 30 minutes later and grew worried when they discovered she wasn't there. They then contacted her father, who had her location tracked via the Life 360 app.

He, along with several other worried family members, made their way to her location where they say they discovered her naked in the back seat of Ali's car being sexually assaulted. According to the family, Ali tried to make his way to the front seat while holding up his pants to get away, but several of them began to "beat" him.

It was during this purported altercation that the victim's father allegedly pulled out a gun and fired two shots -- with neither striking anyone.

Deputies said the victim was too drunk to give consent and could not recall what happened after she was picked up, per the NY Post.

While in court on Monday, prosecuting attorney Rudy Breteler said, per KOMO, "Marking (victim) as dropped off in the Uber app, yet continuing to transport her to another location, demonstrated (suspect’s) intent to conceal (victim’s) location where he believed no one could find her so that he could sexually assault her."

In a statement sent to KOMO, Uber said, "The driver's behavior is appalling and has no place in our society or on the Uber platform. We take reports of this nature very seriously and removed the driver's access to the platform as soon as we were made aware of the incident. We have a dedicated team standing ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation."

Ali has been charged with first degree kidnapping and second degree rape. His bail was set at $100,000, with the judge further stipulating that should he post bail, he must wear a GPS monitor at all times. He would also be required to maintain no contact with the victim, possess weapons, or work for any rideshare company.