The woman was texting friends saying she felt uncomfortable after getting in the van, before the assault, police said.
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One alleged victim was an 18-year-old Escondido resident who requested an Uber ride on Friday, Sept. 16, from Palomar College in San Marcos.
Murphy said investigators believe there may be more victims who have not come forward. He was arrested after she alerted police in Escondido, Calif., 30 miles northeast of San Diego.
Another Palomar College student told police he tried to get her to come into his 2014 Chrysler minivan on campus a day earlier even though she hadn’t requested a ride, investigators said.
Murphy said Vague, who is 270 pounds and 7 feet tall, is married and had worked for the ride-hailing companies for three months.
In another incident, a 19-year-old Escondido woman who received a ride from Vague was allegedly sexually battered when they arrived at her residence. Vague asked to take a picture with the two of them and as they posed he touched them inappropriately, Murphy said.
The victims were picked up at various locations in North County, police Lt. Justin Murphy said.
He had a criminal record in Utah, Murphy said, but it was not for a sexual crime.
A phone listing for Vague could not be found. It was unclear whether the woman and college police had identified Vague as an Uber or Lyft driver. Both companies have suspended his employment over the criminal case.
Lyft said in a statement that the company has “a strict zero-tolerance policy for any type of violent behavior, abuse or harassment”.
The suspect held his Lyft and Uber jobs for about nine and three months, respectively, according to Murphy.
As a student athlete, Vague was a second-team All-Coast Conference basketball player at Canada College in Redwood and set scoring and shot-blocking records for San Marcos High School, where he was twice named most valuable player, and for the Utah State University Aggies, according to the latter team’s website.
A statement from Uber said, “There is no excuse for the violent acts described and reported to police”.
California lawmakers have passed a bill now awaiting Gov.
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The legislation would prohibit registered sex offenders and those convicted of violent felonies or driving under the influence in the past seven years from driving for ride-hailing companies.
