HOUSTON – An Uber driver is accused of sexually assaulting a woman while giving her a ride home from a holiday party in December 2024.
Opeyemi Saheed Babalola, 43, is charged with sexual assault. His bond is set at $75,000.
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Court documents allege the sexual assault happened on Dec. 13, 2024, after a woman says she attended a holiday party for her job. The woman told police she was very drunk and a colleague had ordered an Uber for her to go home and put her in the Uber because at that point she could barely walk on her own.
While the woman said she doesn’t remember everything that happened due to her being intoxicated, she did remember getting out the back seat and walking and getting in the front seat of the Uber vehicle. She said she got flashes of memory about what happened, according to the court documents.
According to the court documents, the woman told police she remembers the driver having a hand on her leg before starting to inappropriately touch her.
Once the Uber got to her house, the documents say the driver got out of the vehicle, went to the passenger side of the vehicle, and gently slapped the woman’s face as a way to try to wake her up. It was at this point the woman says the driver raped her. Afterwards, she didn’t immediately call police, but went inside and fell asleep.
The next day, the documents state the woman texted a friend that she believed she was raped.
She was able to give police the license plate information of the vehicle the driver was using and the information came back to Babalola. Ring doorbell camera video from the home also showed the same white SUV the driver was said to have been using as an Uber.
A SANE exam was also given and it showed a mixture of DNA from the victim and an unknown male, alleged to be Babalola.
Babalola appeared in court Wednesday evening where the judge refused to give him a lower bond. He is ordered to have no contact with the victim and can also not operate as a rideshare driver as a condition of his bond. He also cannot drive without permission and his travel will be restricted to Harris and surrounding counties.