Man posing as Uber driver sexually assaulted woman after Five Points pickup

Editor's note: The kidnapping charge in this case was later dismissed at a preliminary hearing in March 2018. The criminal sexual conduct charge was dismissed the same month after a grand jury decided there was insufficient evidence to continue to trial on that charge.

A man who sexually assaulted a woman after picking her up from Five Points in Columbia was arrested on Monday.

Mouad Bendahmane, 33, is facing charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping, according to a news release from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. He is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center without bond.

The incident took place on Oct. 28, when Bendahmane agreed to give a woman a ride home from the Five Points area, the release stated. Instead, Bendahmane is accused of driving her to his home on Twin Oaks Circle, where he sexually assaulted her.

When he drove the woman back to her home, Bendahmane told her friends that he was an Uber driver, according to the release. It’s unclear if he posed as an Uber driver when he initially offered to give the woman a ride home.

Investigators are now looking into other sexual assault cases involving Bendahmane, and additional charges may be filed against him, the release stated.

Columbia attorney Tivis Sutherland, who is representing Bendahmane, called the allegations against his client “completely false” and said they plan to fight the charges in court.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Man posing as Uber driver sexually assaulted woman after Five Points pickup."