QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - The Uber driver accused of raping a woman in the back seat of his vehicle before posting bail and fleeing the country was a national of Ghana who was living in the U.S. illegally, an ICE spokesman said, and now his victim is calling for change.
Frederick Amfo, 30, was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail Friday during his arraignment in Quincy District Court on one count of rape, according to a spokeswoman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. Emily Murray told 7News Amfo climbed into the back seat of his car and raped her on April 9.
Although the judge ordered that if Amfo posted bail, he must stay away from the victim, surrender his passport and no longer work any other ride-sharing company, a Trial Court spokeswoman said he was given 24 hours to turn over his passport — allowing him time to leave the U.S. — an option they are no longer offering.
“The court has now implemented procedures to ensure that defendants who are ordered by the court to surrender their passports surrender them when they post bail and prior to their release,” the spokesperson said.
An ICE spokesman said following Amfo’s arrest, the agency issued an immigration detainer to the Weymouth Police Department because he was living in the U.S. illegally. And though that detainer should have followed him as he transferred from the Quincy Court House, ICE said the court chose not to forward the detainer to Norfolk County — allowing him to be bailed out.
“This case highlights the potential dangers of policies that prohibit cooperation with ICE,” the spokesman said in a statement. “ICE detainers serve as a legally authorized request, upon which a law enforcement agency may rely, to continue to maintain custody of an alien for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody for removal purposes. Pursuant to ICE policy, all ICE detainers are submitted with an accompanying administrative arrest warrant or warrant of removal depending upon the circumstances of the individual case. ICE places immigration detainers when the agency possesses probable cause to believe an alien is deportable from the United States.”
The woman who says Amfo raped her in the back of his Uber vehicle says she “felt hurt, betrayed and all around upset,” when she got an email from Weymouth police Monday letting her know he had fled the country.
“I did the right thing,” she said. “I came forward, I did everything by the book that you are supposed to and it failed me.”
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)