Man mistaken for Uber driver ordered to stand trial in Overland Park kidnapping, rape

A Kansas City man was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges he kidnapped and raped a woman after she and a companion thought he was an Uber driver.

Dereje Gebremariam, 43, allegedly assaulted the woman in August in Overland Park after she and a male companion accepted a ride from him in downtown Kansas City.

The man thought he was an Uber driver, according to court documents and testimony, but a company spokeswoman said that he was not an Uber driver.

On the drive to their hotel in Overland Park, the woman’s friend asked the driver to stop so he could go to the bathroom. But when he got out of the car, the driver drove off with the woman.

The woman testified that she didn’t remember anything after leaving the Power & Light District until she woke up in the back seat of the car while the driver sexually assaulted her.

The driver dropped off the woman at the hotel, and she later identified Gebremariam in a photo lineup, according to the documents.

After a preliminary hearing on Thursday and Friday, a Johnson County District Court judge found probable cause to try Gebremariam on charges of rape, aggravated kidnapping and felony theft.

An April 24 trial date was set.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Man mistaken for Uber driver ordered to stand trial in Overland Park kidnapping, rape."