MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A man turned himself in at Miami Beach police headquarters on Thursday after detectives accused him of pretending to be an Uber driver in February, picking up a woman from a South Beach nightclub, then raping her in the back seat of his car.
Claudel Lesperance, 38, of northwest Miami-Dade, is facing charges of sexual battery of a physically helpless victim and kidnapping.
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According to an arrest report, the attack happened during the early morning hours of Feb. 9.
Miami Beach police said the victim had been partying with friends at Baroom Club, located at 1342 Washington Ave., and began to feel sick after having four drinks, so she requested an Uber ride back to her residence near Collins Avenue and 25th Street.
She was supposed to have been picked up in a Toyota C-HR. Instead, police said Lesperance arrived to pick her up in a Honda CR-V.
Police said Lesperance fist-bumped the valet attendant, who would later tell detectives he found his actions “odd,” asked if the club was busy and mentioned being an Uber driver. The suspect’s occupation is listed in the arrest report as “unemployed.”
Police said just before 2 a.m., surveillance video showed the victim staggering out of the club. That’s when authorities said Lesperance “became fixated” on her.
The arrest report states that the victim staggered over to Lesperance’s vehicle. He told her that he was her Uber driver, police said.
According to the report, when the woman asked for confirmation, Lesperance had her give him her phone, which he then used to cancel her actual Uber ride.
He “then advised the victim that he worked for the club and would be the driver to take her to her desired destination,” police wrote.
Police said the woman was in and out of consciousness, vomited in the vehicle, and at one point woke up to find the vehicle stopped and Lesperance masturbating next to her in the back seat.
The report states that when the victim screen, Lesperance got dressed, went to the front seat and continued driving.
Police said she vomited and lost consciousness again and was next awakened by Lesperance raping her in the back seat.
The woman said she screamed and fought, but Lesperance covered her mouth and overpowered her, the report states.
Police said he only stopped after she vomited into his hand. They said he then swore at her, took her wallet and $20 and ordered her to grab her belongings and leave his car.
Authorities said she ran away and called a friend, who provided her with an Uber ride back home.
The report states that the victim, “still in shock and exhausted,” fell asleep in her room and told her building’s staff about what happened later in the morning.
They called police and the victim later provided detectives articles of clothing and a menstrual pad as evidence, the report states.
On Feb. 13, police were able to use license plate readers and other investigative data to track down the CR-V and Lesperance, it states.
Police said he identified himself on CCTV footage and referred to himself as a “private driver,” giving multiple inconsistent statements before invoking his right to an attorney. Authorities released him.
They got search warrants for his vehicle and his cellphone location data, which later matched up the victim’s own GPS data, the report states.
Then, on Tuesday, detectives got a key piece of evidence from the Miami-Dade Police Department’s crime lab, the report states: Lesperance’s DNA was found on the menstrual pad.
That led him to surrender, with his attorney, to Miami Beach police on Thursday, police said.
Lesperance, a Haitian national who lives in the West Little River area, was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with a bond listed as “to be set” in Miami-Dade jail records.
Miami Beach police said Friday evening that they were unaware of any additional victims.
Uber provides safety tips for riders on its website.