Local Uber driver arrested, accused of exposing himself to woman

EVERETT, Mass. — An Uber driver was arrested in Everett Sunday on charges of lewd behavior.

Paul Griffin, a 28-year-old Malden man, is accused of exposing his genitals to a woman. The victim said it was the second time the same man had exposed himself to her.

The woman went to the Everett Police Station Sunday and gave officers the license plate number and a description of the suspect. When police approached the described vehicle, they say it suddenly accelerated and drove into oncoming traffic.

Police say the suspect then turned on to a dead end street and fled from the vehicle. After fleeing through several yards and streets, officers were able to arrest the suspect, later identified as Griffin.

Griffin was charged with open and gross lewdness, lewd and lascivious behavior, failure to stop for police and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

In court on Monday, it was revealed that Griffin had still been driving for Uber despite being arrested a little more than a year ago for allegedly exposing himself to a female college student in Boston.

Following the arrest, Everett's mayor demanded changes to Uber's hiring process. He sent a letter to Uber, demanding enhanced screening for drivers.

"Amend this legislation to immediately require thorough background checks for all drivers and require fingerprinting," Mayor Carlo Demaria wrote. "Clearly, these drivers should be thoroughly vetted and they are not."

Massachusetts doesn't have a system to flag private employers when incidents like this happen. FOX25 reached out to Boston Police, who in the past have called for stronger background check procedures for Uber drivers. Boston Police said it's Uber's responsibility to learn about incidents, not police's responsibility to alert them.

Cox Media Group