Jury Finds Palatine Uber Driver Guilty Of Sexual Assault

PALATINE, IL – A former Palatine resident who had been accused of sexually assaulting a rideshare passenger in Elmhurst three years ago has been found guilty by a jury, the DuPage County State’s Attorney announced on Thursday.

Uber driver Ghazwan Alani, 35, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 35-passenger by a jury shortly before 9 p.m. on Wednesday night, following a three-day trial and about three hours of deliberations, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced.

Alani, who posted 10 percent of his $100,000 bond in 2020, had been free on bond and was convicted of one count of attempted criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse.

In May 2020, the victim arranged for an Uber ride to bring her to a location in Elmhurst. At approximately 1:19 a.m., police said that the woman arrived at her location in an Uber driven by Alani. Upon arrival, Alani got out of the vehicle, opened the rear driver’s side door, entered the back seat of the vehicle, and sexually abused the woman, prosecutors said.

The victim was able to escape out of the rear passenger’s side door after kicking Alani. She then ran from the vehicle and entered her destination, police said. Later that morning, the woman contacted the Elmhurst Police Department. An investigation led by the Elmhurst Police Department, which included extensive forensic and DNA analysis, led to Alani who was taken into custody on September 1, 2020, from his home in Palatine.

“Late last night, a jury found that Mr. Alani, an Uber driver, sexually abused an innocent woman who had entrusted him to get her home safely,” Berlin said on Thursday. “I thank the victim in this case for her strength and courage in bringing this matter to law enforcement and for facing her attacker in open court.”

Alani’s next court appearance is scheduled for August 3, for the return of the Pre-sentence Report. He faces a penalty of up to seven years in prison.