Bloomington ride-share driver charged with sexual battery

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A Bloomington ride-share driver has been charged with sexual battery after a woman accused him of touching her inappropriately during an Uber ride back to her dorm.

According to court documents, the woman told police that Diego Parra-Castillo, 49, picked her up around 1:45 a.m. on March 18 in the 1400 block of N. Willis Drive after she ordered an Uber ride back to her dormitory on N. Jordan Avenue. She told officers that Parra-Castillo could not find her at her pickup location, so she walked until he was able to spot her.

Once in his vehicle, she said Parra-Castillo refused to accept the ride, meaning he did not approve the ride through the Uber app. She also reported that Parra-Castillo drove very slow, and she asked multiple time to be let out during the ride. However, he convinced her to allow him to drop her off at the dorm.

She went on to tell police that while driving, Parra-Castillo kissed her on the neck and put his hand down her clothing, touching her buttocks. She told officers that she continued to ask to be let out of the vehicle and tried to get out, but the door was locked.

The woman was eventually able to escape the vehicle and reported the incident to a residential assistant at her dorm, who notified campus police, according to court documents.

Parra-Castillo was taken in for questioning. Documents show he denied touching anyone. During the interview, he originally told police he was not a talkitive guy, so he and the woman did not talk much during the ride. But later he told officers they talked the entire trip, per court documents. The documents also show that Parra-Castillo had no answer for police when asked why he did not accept the ride through the app or why the app shows it took over 49 minutes to travel 4.47 miles from Willis Drive to Jordan Avenue.

Parra-Castillo told police that after dropping her off, he began driving for Lyft because Uber only allows drivers to work for 14 hours at a time.

After the interview, police took Parra-Castillo to the Marion County Jail. He faces felony charges of sexual battery and criminal confinement.

Uber release the following statement regarding the incident:

“Everyone has the right to feel safe and respected while using Uber. We immediately removed this driver’s access to the app as soon as it was reported to us and we’ve been in touch with the victim to offer support and resources.”