Uber Driver Charged With Sex Assault Had Criminal History
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Dallas police arrested an Uber driver for the alleged sexual assault of a woman.
According to court records, 56-year-old Talal Ali Chammout has a previous criminal record including serving prison time for a federal weapons charge.
Last Sunday (July 25th), investigators said Chammout picked up the victim in the McKinney/Cedar Springs area and drove her to her home in West Oak Cliff. Once at her home, according to police, he followed her inside where he allegedly sexually assaulted her. Chammout was arrested four days later.
According to federal court records, in 2006 in California, Chammout was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and conspiracy to possess stolen government property. Chammout was considered a felon at the time because in 1995 he had been convicted of assault with force likely to cause great bodily harm.
According to the 2006 federal affidavit, Chammout tried to purchase semi-automatic pistols that he was told had been stolen from the United State military. Following the purchase, the FBI served a search warrant on his California business and two residents and found 40 additional firearms, including AK47 assault weapons. The government dropped the conspiracy to posses stolen property charge. Chammout was released from federal prison in 2012.
In 2014, Chammout was arrested in Dallas County on a prostitution-related charge. The case was dismissed.
CBS 11 News has reached out to Uber for comment. We received this statement late Saturday afternoon:
"We take these reports seriously and our thoughts are with the victim. The driver was immediately banned once
we learned of the allegations and Uber's safety team is working with the Dallas Police Department on their investigation."
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