British father charged with rape of Uber passenger in Brisbane to return to court

Amy Mitchell-Whittington

Published: July 14 2017 - 2:13PM

A Queensland Uber driver has been remanded in custody after he fronted a Brisbane court over the alleged rape of a teenage girl.

The 37-year-old British man was charged with the rape of a 16-year-old passenger in Brisbane city's south on Friday, July 7, about 8.30pm.

His lawyer David Svoboda said the father of two had been in Australia for a year and was on a permanent residency visa.

The accused had been working with Uber for the past eight months and was about to move into a recently purchased property with his family on Monday.

Mr Svoboda applied for bail for his client and said the "potential consequence" of a refusal could result in the loss of the family home.

"They have a weekly mortgage repayment...without my client's contribution to the family income the potential for maintaining those payments is not good," he said.

Magistrate John Costello refused bail on the grounds he believed there was an "unacceptable risk" of the man reoffending and a risk that he would fail to appear for his next court appearance.

"His family would be at risk in terms of finances if bail is refused but against that, it seems to me there is a strong case against the defendant that he raped and sexually abused a 16-year-old female passenger in his taxi," he said.

The application for a disease test order was approved.

The accused was remanded in custody, with his matter adjourned until August 7.

The alleged incident was unrelated to three rape charges laid against a 47-year-old Uber driver last Friday, police said.

This story was found at: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/british-father-charged-with-rape-of-uber-passenger-in-brisbane-to-return-to-court-20170714-gxb6i7.html