Uber driver in court in Tampa for sexually abusing a student

TAMPA, Florida. – The trial has begun of an Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting one of his passengers by tricking her using the Cash App.

Steeve Louis was arrested in October 2023 and charged with sexual abuse. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said he planned to sexually assault an international student last summer.

In court on Thursday, the state stated that the then 20-year-old student was in the United States to attend the University of South Florida.

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“She was completely alone, worried, isolated,” the prosecutor said.

Prosecutors said she called an Uber home from a restaurant in August 2023 and Louis was the driver who picked her up.

“He asked her personal questions,” the prosecutor said. “He asked her about her status as a student. He learned that she was here on a visa.”

Prosecutors said the victim told Louis her school fees were due soon and she was discussing with her family how to make the payment internationally. Prosecutors said Louis took the victim's phone when he dropped her off, downloaded Cash App and said he would help her set it up.

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“He installed the app, he set it up, he took her number, he gave her his and he put his number in her phone and he told her to call him if she needed anything,” the prosecutor said.

According to officials, the victim began receiving text messages from an unknown number claiming to be a Cash App agent.

In court on Thursday, prosecutors showed text messages from this so-called agent in which he threatened to revoke the victim's visa because he allegedly used Louis' information to set up the Cash App.

“In order for her not to lose her visa, he needs to be presented with evidence,” the prosecutor said. “Evidence that he describes as intimate and that shows that she and Steeve Louis are in a relationship.”

Prosecutors said the threatening letters continued until the victim met with Louis again and they sent him video evidence that made it seem like the two were in a relationship.

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Prosecutors said that at this point the victim was forced to perform numerous sexual acts with Louis.

“You'll see that she never asked this person for identification,” Louis' lawyer said. “She just blindly went along with everything he said.”

However, the prosecution stated that Louis was behind the plot to get to the victim and that he had admitted this to investigators.

“Steeve Louis told them, 'I really liked her, but she said no, so I staged the whole thing. Federal agent. Sent her a message. And it worked,'” the prosecutor said.

Louis's lawyer argued that the victim had stayed in touch with Louis via text message.

“She tells him she likes him and how sweet and warm the long hug was,” Louis' lawyer said. “She will also tell him she had a great time.”

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Prosecutors said the victim eventually stonewalled Louis and reported the situation to the sheriff's office. Louis' attorney maintained his innocence and said this was a consensual relationship.

On Thursday afternoon, the court also heard testimony from detectives in the case. The judge dismissed the jury on Thursday afternoon and expects the trial to conclude sometime on Friday.

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