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Man posing as condo driver allegedly raped woman he picked up at Miami airport, authorities say

Authorities say a Florida man posing as a carpool driver was arrested Wednesday for allegedly using a sex battery to allegedly pick up a woman at Miami International Airport last month and raped her, authorities said.

Fernando Avila Hernandez, 28, of Miami, was listed as an inmate Thursday in Broward County Jail where he was held with two battery charges on a victim 18 years of age or older and one touch or assault battery, according to prison records. Records say the bond money charged is $135,000.

A spokeswoman for the Broward State Attorney’s Office said Avila Hernandez made his first appearance in court on Thursday and a judge ordered that if he bails, he must not contact the victim and will be given bail. placed on a GPS tracking device.

Avila Hernandez’s lawyer, Bijan Sebastian Parwaresch on Thursday said his client was innocent: “We strongly oppose the notion of an gratuitous sexual encounter.”

Avila Hernandez could apply for the bond as late as Thursday, Parwaresch said.

NBC Miami reported Avila Hernandez picked up a 28-year-old woman who had arrived at the airport from Salt Lake City. The woman was trying to hail a taxi when she was approached by Avila Hernandez, who was soliciting passengers to be carpool drivers, according to an affidavit.

The woman, originally from Colombia, got into the back of Avila Hernandez’s SUV and said she needed a ride to a hotel in Miramar, the affidavit said.

At one point, Avila Hernandez asked her to sit in the front seat to help give directions, the affidavit said.

“She said she didn’t think anything of it, because Uber is not officially authorized in Colombia, Uber drivers sat in front of their passengers so as not to notify the authorities,” the affidavit said. .

When they arrived at the hotel, Avila Hernandez demanded payment and the woman offered to pay by credit card, but he told her he only took cash, the affidavit said.

Avila Hernandez offered to pay her $500 for sex, but she told him she was not a prostitute, the affidavit said. He then told her the trip would cost $300, but she said she didn’t have that much money, the affidavit said.

He then drove past the hotel and into a shopping mall, where he parked behind a restaurant and sexually assaulted her, the affidavit said.

He then drove her to a hotel and left, and the woman reported the incident to hotel staff and they called the police, NBC Miami reported.

The alleged sexual assault occurred on March 29, CBS Miami reported.

Detectives retrieved surveillance video from the airport, according to NBC Miami. Monitoring was also collected from the place of the battery explosion and the hotel. A detective recognized the suspect in the video as Avila Hernandez, who was arrested in a separate incident, the affidavit said.

The victim was later identified as Avila Hernandez in the police squad, and he was also on a list of people who solicited customers by posing as Uber drivers and taxi drivers at the airport, affidavit said.

Uber told NBC News on Thursday, Avila Hernandez did not have access to its platform at the time of the incident and had not taken a ride on the app since April 2021. Uber drivers are prohibited from taking trips outside of the app, and the company has reminded passengers to only take rides through the Uber platform.

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