Mixed verdict in trial of Uber driver accused of raping one his clients

After deliberating late into the night Monday, a Montgomery Common Pleas Court jury returned a mixed verdict in the trial of an Uber driver charged with raping a woman who had hired him last year to take her from Center City to Montgomery County.

The jury announced shortly before 11 p.m., 61/2 hours after it had begun its work, that it had found Abdellah Elkaddi, 47, not guilty of raping the 24-year-old woman, and not guilty of aggravated indecent assault while a victim is unaware of what is happening.

The panel, however, found him guilty of sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, and aggravated indecent assault by compulsion

Elkaddi, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Morocco who used an Arabic interpreter throughout the trial, showed little reaction after the verdict was read.

His lawyer, William Reilly, said he was unhappy with the verdict even though his client was acquitted of rape. The sex, Reilly said, was consensual.

Elkaddi's accuser, who gave hours tearful and emotional testimony on the first day of the three-day trial, was comforted by family members after the verdict.

"We're pleased with the verdict," said Michelle Henry, a Bucks County prosecutor specially sworn in to handle the case. "It clearly shows that the jury believed the victim."

The attack happened in June, after the woman had been out with coworkers at Independence Beer Garden in Center City. Around 11 p.m. she used the Uber cellphone app to call for a ride to her car, which was parked in Norristown.

When she and Elkaddi arrived in Norristown, however, her car was not there. Elkaddi drove her to the Norristown Police Station, according to trial testimony, where the two waited but found no officers to assist them.

At one point, the woman climbed into the front seat of the car - out of habit, she testified - and asked Elkaddi to take her to her home. She said she fell asleep and awoke to Elkaddi raping her in West Norriton.

Afterward, she directed Elkaddi to a location near the West Norriton Police Station, where she made a report.

In closing arguments, Reilly said the woman made up the story to distract from her having been asked to leave the beer garden.

The woman told the jury that she was embarrassed after she accidentally used the men's bathroom and was asked to leave.

Elkaddi, who has been held on $1 million bail since his arrest, was returned to jail to await sentencing by Judge Thomas P. Rogers.