- Nathaniel Fa'amau Laulu, 22, faces four felony charges in Utah.
- He's accused of aggravated kidnapping and forcible sexual abuse of a ride-share driver.
- Laulu allegedly assaulted the driver, ignoring her pleas, before being arrested.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A man who told police he is on vacation in Utah is now facing four felony charges accusing him of sexually abusing his ride share driver.
Nathaniel Fa'amau Laulu, 22, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and three counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
A woman reported to West Valley police that early on the morning of April 11, she was working as a ride-share driver and picked up Laulu.
"As she approached the drop-off location, Laulu told her to 'keep driving,' then started touching her chest from behind," according to charging documents. After being groped again, the woman pulled into a neighborhood where Laulu "grabbed the gear stick and steering wheel, turned the car off, and took the keys."
As the assault continued, the woman "tried to deescalate the situation and tried to get him out of the car, but he persisted," the charges state. Police say she was then able to activate her phone's 911 emergency feature, "but when the operator began to speak, she didn't say anything. Laulu then asked her why she called the cops, to which she responded that he was not listening."
Laulu "eventually got out of her car and walked away," the charges state.
Police say the woman later found his phone in the back of her car, and officers were then able to identify Laulu, locate and arrest him on May 1.
"The defendant ... took advantage of his ride-share driver, despite her telling him multiple times to stop and attempting to get him out of the car," according to the charges, which note that Laulu "is not from Utah and is on 'vacation' from work for a year." He told police he has recently lived in Alaska, Portland, Wyoming, Montana and Washington for work.
