Sex assault charges dropped against former Uber driver

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HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials have dismissed a case against an Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl he picked up in Honolulu.

Two charges of sex assault and one of attempted sex assault against Luke Wadahara were dropped this week, KHON-TV reported.

The Honolulu prosecutor’s office had requested the dismissal, saying DNA evidence did not match Wadahara and that the alleged victim’s guardian did not want her to testify at trial.

“The State of Hawaii cannot proceed without the testimony of the complainant and therefore declines further prosecution,” the request stated.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, which means the charges can be refiled.

A police affidavit said Wadahara picked up the girl and her friends from the Ala Moana Center on April 17. After the girl’s friends were dropped off, police accused Wadahara of taking the teen to Makiki and sexually assaulting her multiple times.

The victim and her mother had tracked down the suspect’s Uber driver profile and Facebook page and handed the information over to police, who then arrested Wadahara at his apartment.

Uber deactivated Wadahara’s profile after the alleged incident.