Welcome to the latest edition of AFT NewsWatch, a weekly service of Advocates for Fairness in Transportation, an ad hoc group of regulated transportation service companies dedicated to informing and educating the public on threats to public safety from new so-called ride-sharing or ride-booking services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. Visit the Archive to read previous editions.

Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting customer

An Uber driver is accused of sexually assaulting a customer in Houston. Police say Duncan Eric Burton raped a passenger. According to the Houston Police Department, the victim, who was visiting from out of town and out with a group of friends at a bar in the Midtown area, was picked up by the driver.  Police said she was too drunk to tell the driver where she was staying, so he offered to take her to his home to sleep. 

Read more from KPRC Houston

Arrest made of Uber driver accused of trying to rob home after dropping off woman at DIA

A woman is warning people to think twice about your safety when ordering a ride from Uber. She said the driver who took her to Denver International Airport dropped her off and then went back to try to break into her house. Police identified the driver as 51-year-old Gerald Montgomery. On Tuesday, the Denver Police Department said Montgomery, who was wanted for attempted burglary, was taken into custody in Jefferson County. The woman said Montgomery went back to her home in the University neighborhood and went for the back door to break in, but her roommate foiled the alleged crime.

Read more from Fox31 Denver

U-M student tells police Uber driver demanded money or sex act

A female University of Michigan student told police that an Uber driver demanded money or a sex act when she tried getting out of the vehicle around 1:30 a.m. Friday. U-M police issued a security bulletin about the suspicious incident Friday afternoon. The student said she joined another person in an Uber ride. "When the victim attempted to leave the vehicle at her destination, the driver reportedly demanded money or a sex act," the bulletin said. 

Read more from MLive Michigan

Cops: Norcross man tells fellow pedophile pen pal of exploits 

After months of online investigation, spanning from South Dakota to Norcross, police believe they have finally caught "BigC." Identified as 32-year-old Christopher Dale Cates, the suspect was arrested Friday and is accused of meeting an Internet pen pal from Rapid City, S.D., in 2013 and, for nearly year, discussing sexual encounters with children. Cates, who most recently worked as an Uber driver, also allegedly sent child pornography to his northern companion.

Read more from Gwinnett Daily Post

Raleigh same-sex couple says Uber driver discriminated

Rainey Ashcraft Jr. still can't believe it happened to him. Ashcraft and his same-sex partner got into an Uber vehicle in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, and he said the ride started off normally. "After my partner put his arm around me, the cab driver looked into the rearview mirror and flipped out on us," he said. "Slurs were thrown. (He) told us we were not welcome in his cab." The driver threw the men out of his vehicle. Police were called.

Read more from WRAL Raleigh

Uber is hiring its first chief security officer. Why didn't it have one before?

Uber announced on Thursday that it is hiring its first chief security officer: Joe Sullivan, who was lured from the same role at Facebook. But his hiring also raises questions about why Uber didn't have a chief security officer for the first six years of its existence and the perils of a larger start-up culture that collects data first and secures it later.

Read more from The Washington Post