CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There are new developments in the case of a man accused of sexually assaulting an Uber driver.
Thursday afternoon, the suspect appeared in court for the first time. A judge appointed 21 year-old Jonathan Neal a public defender.
This week, the victim spoke only to NBC Charlotte about her horrifying experience.
Now, NBC Charlotte obtained court document with new details about how it all began. We have to warn you the story is disturbing to hear.
Court documents show it started at a Walmart on Albermarle Road just after midnight on Saturday morning.
It was an Uber ride that went from inappropriate to inexplicable. The 31-year-old victim, who NBC Charlotte is not identifying, described the disturbing conversation.
“(He) said, ‘You’re really pretty, what type of men are you into?’, I said, ‘I don’t talk about that’,” the victim said. “He said, ‘Oh, I never (exploitive) a white girl’.”
Police say 21 year-old Jonathan Neal then forced her to pull over about six miles into the ride; it was a secluded parking lot on North Graham Street. The victim described begging him to stop.
“I don’t want to get pregnant, please stop, please stop, it hurts it hurts,” she told NBC Charlotte.
On Thursday afternoon, Jonathan Neal was in court facing multiple charges, including rape and sexual battery.
During the Uber ride, police say he was on state probation, after being arrested for a sex offense in 2015.
“The victim had no idea she was picking up a registered sex offender,” said Lt. Brad Koch with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
“I started crying and screaming, praying someone would hear me, but because the bars were playing loud music, no one could hear me,” the victim told NBC Charlotte.
According to a search warrant, police are now looking to collect evidence from Neal’s phone. Meanwhile, the victim is pushing for new safety measures from Uber.
“We need a panic button on the app,” she said.
Uber tells NBC Charlotte an emergency button for drivers, similar to what’s already available for riders, will be coming soon.
“I wanted to call my mom right away, but I didn’t know how to tell my mom I was raped,” the victim said.
Neal’s next court appearance is for a bond hearing on July 16.