BURLINGTON — A former driver for the ride-hailing service Uber who is accused of sexually assaulting a passenger is again seeking to have that charge dismissed.
Omar Nassir, 24, appeared Thursday in Chittenden County Superior Court to be arraigned for a second time on a felony sexual assault charge. It stems from a February incident in which prosecutors say Nassir had sex with a female passenger who was too drunk to give consent.
Superior Court Judge James Crucitti dismissed the felony charge last fall because he said the state had not presented enough evidence for a jury to find Nassir guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nassir again pleaded not guilty Thursday. His attorney Robert Behrens said he will again move to have the sexual assault charge dismissed. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Feb. 22.
Nassir also faces a misdemeanor charge of lewd and lascivious conduct.
The passenger told police that Nassir had exposed himself to her and requested a sex act, forming the basis for the lewd and lascivious conduct charge.
Police said that in a lengthy interview with officers, during which Nassir denied several times that any contact occurred, he later admitted having sex with the woman but said she initiated the contact.
Crucitti dismissed the sexual assault charge because he said the state could not rely on portions of Nassir’s interview with police, while rejecting others.
Last month Crucitti allowed the state to bring the felony sexual assault charge again after presenting new evidence suggesting the woman was too drunk to consent to sex.
That evidence is an interview with the woman, who told a police detective she had “blacked out” from drinking too much the night of the alleged assault. She told the detective that she became aware Nassir told police they had sex only when a victim’s advocate told her months later, according to court documents.
“From our perspective there’s nothing new here,” Behrens said after the arraignment.
Crucitti said Thursday the state had met the “probable cause” threshold for refiling the charge, which requires the court to look at the evidence in the “light most favorable to the state.”
During the arraignment, Behrens referred to the state’s new evidence as “hearsay,” because it relies on a detective’s summation of the woman’s statements.
There is a higher standard of evidence for the state to argue for the denial of Nassir’s motion to dismiss, Behrens said afterward. The state will need to show there is “substantial admissible evidence” that an assault occurred.
For the woman’s statements to be admitted as evidence going forward, she may have to testify in court.
