MIAMI — A man who worked as an Uber driver has been arrested and accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a tourist outside a luxury hotel in the downtown Miami area, authorities confirmed Wednesday.
Jail records show Rafael Martinez, 42, faces a sexual battery charge in connection with an alleged assault that occurred in January 2024, though he was not arrested until October 2025 following a lengthy investigation that included DNA evidence linking him to the victim.
According to a arrest report from the Miami Police Department, the incident began around midnight on Jan. 25, 2024, when the victim was leaving the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach after having drinks with a friend.
The woman was attempting to order an Uber when police said Martinez allegedly approached her offering a ride. His arrest report lists his occupation as an Uber driver.
Police say Martinez gave the victim an open bottle of Vitamin Water from his vehicle’s center console.
The woman told investigators she felt “bad and dizzy” after drinking it and passed out shortly after, only to wake up hours later on a couch in an unfamiliar apartment where a man was offering her tequila, according to the report.
The victim said she fell asleep again shortly after and remembered waking up naked on a bed in a dark room with her clothes folded at the foot of the bed, the report stated.
She then got dressed and left the apartment, which investigators later identified as being located at Park Place by the Bay apartments, near the 900 block of Northwest First Avenue, where the suspect resides.
Police said surveillance video from the apartment complex captured the disoriented woman at approximately 7 a.m. asking security staff for directions to the exit.
The head of security told investigators the woman appeared unstable and asked where she was. When he offered to call police, she declined and left in an Uber, according to the report.
Detectives were able to track the victim and Martinez on elevator surveillance video entering his floor the night before.
They said the victim was taken to the Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center for examination and toxicology testing following the incident.
On May 30, 2025, investigators said they received lab results that confirmed positive testing for seminal fluid on swabs that were provided by the victim.
Martinez, who worked as an Uber driver and also provided rides outside the app, was interviewed by detectives in June 2025.
When shown a photograph of the victim, authorities said he denied recognizing her or having sexual contact with her. He initially invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent but was compelled to provide DNA under a search warrant.
On Oct. 7, detectives said they received a statement from the victim in which she was shown a photograph of Martinez. She stated she did not have consensual sex with him, according to the report.
They said Martinez was located and arrested at his apartment on Tuesday and transported to MPD’s Special Victims Unit office.
Jail records show he is facing one count of sexual battery on a physically helpless victim.
A spokesperson for Uber released this statement to Local 10:
“While the driver (Martinez) was not using Uber at the time of the incident, this report is deeply disturbing and we have banned him from the platform. The safety of everyone who uses Uber is a top priority, and we stand ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation.”
As of Wednesday, he was being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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