The family of a religious Jewish girl, 16, from New York has filed a lawsuit against the ride-hailing company Uber, alleging that one of its drivers picked up the minor alone and transported her to a Brooklyn neighborhood, where she fell victim to rape by a man she had met on the social media platform Snapchat.
According to court documents, the incident occurred last March in the Bushwick neighborhood. The suspect, Ralfy Figueroa, 26, allegedly bypassed the company's safety controls, ordered a ride to the girl's home on her behalf, extorted her with threats, sexually assaulted her in his personal vehicle and recorded the act. Figueroa has been arrested and is now charged with first-degree rape.
The lawsuit recounts the ordeal endured by the girl, who comes from a prominent family in the Orthodox Jewish community of Nassau County on Long Island. The connection between the girl and Figueroa had begun several months earlier. The criminal complaint details that Figueroa paid the girl $35 in exchange for a nude photo of herself, but she chose to send him a random image she found online.
On the day of the assault, Figueroa contacted her via a video call and demanded that she meet him. Prosecutors cited his explicit threats in court: "You have to. I know your address. Confirm your address. If you don't do this, I will hurt you and your family," he told her.
Following his threats, the girl got into an Uber that had been ordered to her home address.
Uber's policies explicitly state that third parties are prohibited from booking rides for passengers under the age of 18, and that minors are not permitted to ride unaccompanied unless they have a dedicated teen account. The company instructs drivers to request identification when there is doubt about a passenger's age, and to refuse to carry out the trip in the case of an unaccompanied minor.
Despite these clear guidelines, the driver picked up the girl, transported her to Bushwick and dropped her off there without verifying her safety or confirming the presence of a responsible adult to receive her.
The family's attorneys argue in the lawsuit that the girl did not grasp the severity of the danger she faced that night.
After she got out of the ride, the 16-year-old met Figueroa and the two got into his personal vehicle. The criminal complaint states that he initially offered her $1,000 in exchange for oral sex. When she refused, he forced himself on her with severe violence until she vomited. He then continued threatening her life and the lives of her family members. "I'll send people to your house," he told her, adding: "I have guns."
The family's attorney, David Seidman, noted that the suspect filmed the assault, and when it was over, ordered a second Uber to take the girl home — then canceled the ride once she was inside the vehicle.
According to the girl's family, the trauma from the incident has left deep scars. She is currently staying at a medical facility outside New York state, where she is receiving psychiatric treatment. The lawsuit seeks damages from Uber for irreversible physical and emotional harm.
"My daughter told me that if the assault videos are released, she will kill herself," the mother stated in the legal documents.
An additional detail emerging from the case concerns the suspect's troubled background. At the time of the assault, Figueroa had just completed an alternative-to-incarceration rehabilitation program. He had been placed in the program under a plea deal after being arrested the previous July on suspicion of selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer in Bushwick.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor spokeswoman Katie Cornell said in the wake of the case: "We requested a hearing to determine whether the defendant violated the terms of his plea on felony and misdemeanor drug charges and whether he should be sentenced immediately on those charges." Revocation of the plea deal in the drug case could carry a sentence of up to nine years in prison.
Figueroa has denied the rape charge. He is currently held at the notorious Rikers Island detention facility on $100,000 bail, and his attorney declined to comment.
Uber itself declined to respond directly to the specifics of the civil lawsuit and issued a statement saying the company encourages drivers to cancel rides involving unaccompanied minors and to proactively report such incidents through the platform.
A company spokesperson said: "The details of this case are deeply disturbing. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, our commitment to keeping safety at the forefront of everything we do remains unwavering."