A Massachusetts woman is outraged after she says an Uber driver raped her and then left the country.
The suspect was arraigned on Friday, posted bail and is believed to have fled the country.
Boston 25 News would not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Emily Murray insisted that she wanted to be seen and heard. She said she wants everyone to know what happened to her, and how the system failed her.
"It happened. I'm not ashamed, I'm not embarrassed. I understand what happened. I know I did nothing wrong," said Murray. "A loss for words. I was angry I'm still angry. I'm confused."
On April 8, Emily said she was trying to get home when her Uber driver, identified as Frederic Amfo, allegedly locked the doors and raped her in the backseat of his car, just after dropping off another customer.
"Within minutes I was in a situation I couldn't control and I was assaulted," Murray said.
DNA evidence collected from both a rape kit and Amfo's car led to his arrest.
At a court appearance Friday, Amfo was given a $10,000 bail and ordered to stay away from Murray.
Records also show Amfo was also given 24 hours to surrender his passport, if he made bail.
On Friday afternoon, Amfo, who was in the United States illegally, made bail, but he did not surrender his passport, instead he fled the country back to his native Ghana.
"If I went to Ghana and I committed a crime, I wouldn't expect to be able to hop on a plane and say sorry about that, here's some money. I would expect to answer for it. Accountability. And there has been just zero,"Murray said.
"That detainer should have followed the alien as he transferred from the Quincy Court House. The court chose not to forward the detainer to Norfolk County, allowing for his subsequent release on bail from custody," according to a U.S. Customs and Enforcement official.
Tuesday evening, the Massachusetts Trial Court issued a statement that said in part:
“Today, April 17, 2018, the court issued an arrest warrant for the defendant after learning from the prosecution that the defendant has left the country. At the time the defendant posted bail and was released from the House of Correction, the defendant had not surrendered his passport to the court.
A review of the circumstances indicates that the court allowed the defendant to be released without first surrendering his passport, providing him 24 hours to do so. As a result of this review, the court has now implemented procedures to ensure that defendants who are ordered by the court to surrender their passports surrender them when they post bail and prior to their release."
It's unclear what happens next in the case or whether authorities will try to locate Amfo in Ghana.
About the Author
