The Uber Cultural Defense: Driver Reportedly Insists That Woman “Asked For” Groping Due To Her Dress

Uber taxi driver Ramy Botros has a curious defense after he allegedly put his hand down the shirt of a 25-year-old female customer: she was asking for it and in Egypt such assaults are considered justified for women wearing such outfits. This of course was in Orlando, but that did not seem to matter in this rather curious use of the cultural defense, something that I have discussed earlier.

The woman said that she noticed that the man was driving in an odd pattern and back tracking while telling her how attractive and pretty she was. He then allegedly stopped his Honda Civic and started groping her breasts.

Botros, an Egyptian immigrant, reportedly dismissed her objections and said that the fondling was harmless. She later picked him out of a photo lineup. Police say that Botros said that it was not his fault because she was “wearing a revealing shirt with no bra” and that, in Egypt, if a “girl like her . . . means she asking for that.”

Botros was only charged with a misdemeanor and released on a $500 bond. However, Uber has suspended his driver’s account. It appears that the company does not subscribe to the same cultural defense theory.

Source: Orlando Sentinel