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WCTV reported today that a rideshare driver has been arrested and charged with sexual battery after a woman reported being assaulted following a late night pickup from a Tallahassee bar, according to law enforcement records.
The woman went to a hospital on January 10 and told police she believed she had been sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver the night before. She said she had been at a local bar when she ordered a Lyft ride home and remembered entering the vehicle and texting a friend that she was on her way.
According to the report, the driver, Diego Candia, offered her a bottle of water during the ride. After drinking it, she said she lost all memory of what happened next. When she later woke up, she recalled the driver telling her words to the effect of “I’m not going to take you home unless you have sexual with me.” She also had a brief memory of the driver on top of her and kissing her.
The woman told police she could not find her underwear and that her body felt as though she had engaged in sexual intercourse. Investigators later discovered an unfamiliar phone number in her call history. When she called it, a man answered and told her he was the one who took her home, though he denied drugging her.
The woman described the vehicle involved as a dark colored SUV that did not match the Lyft vehicle listed in her app. The Lyft driver assigned to her ride told police he cancelled the trip because the woman did not come outside and said she never entered his vehicle. He also said he may have seen her get into a black SUV.
Police traced the phone number in the victim’s call log to a man whose vehicle matched her description. That individual admitted that the woman entered his vehicle after he had dropped off a separate rideshare passenger. He told officers that he gave her water, that they began kissing, and that they had sexual intercourse inside his vehicle. He claimed he did not believe she was intoxicated.
According to investigators, he also told police he still had the woman’s underwear, socks, and lip gloss in his possession.
The man was arrested and charged with sexual battery. The case remains under investigation.
