Bail Set at $500K for Former Uber Driver Charged in Sex Assault

Maxime Fohounhedo, 30, is accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman who was a passenger in his cab on Nov. 16

Bail was set at $500,000 Tuesday for a former Uber driver charged with sexually assaulting a passenger last month. 

Maxime Fohounhedo, 30, is accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman who was a passenger in his cab on Nov. 16 in the 2600 block of West Lawrence, according to formal charges announced by Chicago police Monday night.

The woman told police she remembers being picked up by her Uber driver at a bar in River North around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 16 before being driven to the crossroads of Lawrence and Western Ave., according to reports.

The next thing she knew she said she was inside an unfamiliar apartment and her driver was on top of her.

Prosecutors allege he have the woman a ride home after the incident and told her "I made you happy" as he was putting her back into the car.

Sheena Fohounhedo, the driver's wife, told NBC Chicago they were shocked when her husband was taken into custody, reporting he had not heard from police until the arrest.

"I do believe if anything happened, she agreed to it," Mrs. Fohounhedo said, adding she believes her husband is an honest man. "I don't believe my husband did anything wrong."

An Uber spokeswoman called the incident "appalling and unacceptable."

Fohounhedo, of the 4400 block of North Lawndale, was charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse, police said.

The woman was treated at Swedish Covenant Hospital, police said.

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