Nassau trial opens in case of ex-Uber driver charged with kidnapping teen

A 15-year-old who was "clever enough to keep her cool" escaped an Uber driver who kidnapped and intended to sexually assault her after picking her up at a Sweet 16 party in Atlantic Beach, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

But an attorney for former Uber driver Sean Williams said there was "a clear misunderstanding" between his client and the passenger, who agreed to get dinner and perhaps a drink before changing her mind.

The passenger, whom Williams believed was at least 18 because of Uber policy, wasn’t locked in the car and had her cellphone the whole journey, defense lawyer Jason Russo also said Tuesday at his client's Nassau County Court trial.

"If this story is true, this gentleman … has to be the dumbest kidnapper you’ve ever seen. Before he even gets to the location, he gives his victim a picture of himself, his name, his registration," Russo added in his opening statement.

A grand jury indicted Williams, now 34, of Brooklyn, on felony charges of kidnapping and kidnapping as a sexually motivated crime, along with misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and unlawful imprisonment. The July 2019 ride ended with the teenager calling 911 at a McDonald’s on Linden Boulevard in Brooklyn, according to authorities.

The victim was able to escape Williams, who canceled the Uber route in Long Beach and headed away from her Merrick home and towards his own in Canarsie, by saying she had to use the bathroom after spotting the fast food restaurant, according to prosecutor Matthew Perry.

"She knew McDonald’s might be her only chance, her only chance to get help," Perry said Tuesday in his opening statement. "She was clever enough to keep her cool … she was able to escape the defendant."

The prosecutor told jurors that Williams locked the teenager in his vehicle after picking her up at The Sands Atlantic Beach at 11:13 p.m. on July 12, 2019, then "began hitting on her," asking her to get dinner and drinks after the high school honor student had said she was too young to drive.

Perry said Williams began asking more personal questions of the victim and "it became clear that what he wanted was sex."

The prosecutor said the teenager insisted Williams was going the wrong way after he passed a sign for Merrick and headed toward Brooklyn, but that Williams smiled and told her: "I’m a good guy."

The teenager saw on her phone that the Uber route had been canceled and only used her phone one time, to text her mother that she was in an Uber, as she looked for a way out without alerting Williams, according to Perry.

"She was terrified about what the defendant might do if he thought she was trying to get help," the prosecutor added.

He said the victim called 911 at 12:04 a.m. after alerting a McDonald’s employee that she needed help, adding that it took the NYPD about an hour to arrive.

Russo told jurors that the passenger never used an emergency button on the Uber app and never told her mother there was any trouble when she texted her during the ride.

The defense attorney said his client waited outside the McDonald’s, going inside once after seeing the passenger at a counter. He later approached a window, before finally leaving after she didn’t return outside, his lawyer added.

"He doesn’t touch her. He doesn’t say anything sexual to her. … There is nothing but reasonable doubt," Russo also told the jury.

Testimony began later Tuesday and is set to continue Wednesday in the trial before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Howard Sturim.