Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for raping one of his passengers, Reuters reports.
The assault occurred last December in Delhi. A woman had hailed a ride using the app and, when she fell asleep during her trip, Yadav drove to a secluded area and attacked her. He was found guilty last month of rape, kidnapping, and criminal intimidation.
He had a criminal record when he applied to become a driver for Uber, but was able to conceal it from the company by providing fake references. Though Uber implemented tighter background checks in response to the attack, another driver was accused of sexually assaulting a passenger in New Delhi over the summer. According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, 338,000 crimes against women were reported in 2014 alone, over 36,000 of which were rape.
The ride-sharing service was banned in India immediately after the first assault. The company revived operations the following month, even though the ban was only recently lifted.
D.K. Mishra, Yadav’s lawyer, maintains that his client is innocent and says that he will appeal the sentence in a higher court.
Uber didn’t respond to a request for comment.
