CLEVELAND (WJW) — A Shaker Heights man, who pretended to be an Uber driver, is now accused of raping a woman after she got into his SUV in Downtown Cleveland.
CMHA Police say the 26-year-old woman left a bar in the Warehouse District early Monday morning, and used her phone to summon Uber for a ride home. She would later tell police that while waiting outside the bar, she saw an SUV that looked similar to the Uber that she ordered.
Investigators say she approached the driver, 35-year-old Monty Nath, and asked if he was her Uber driver. He said yes and invited her to get into the front passenger seat.
The woman later told investigators she remembered Nath driving around downtown and assumed he was taking her to her home on the west side. But according to police reports, Nath drove east toward his home in Shaker Heights and sexually assaulted the woman in his SUV, while her judgment was impaired by alcohol.
Then around 4 a.m., a CMHA police officer pulled over a white Jeep Compass traveling eastbound on Woodland Avenue because the lights weren’t turned on. Behind the wheel, he found Monty Nath, and in the passenger seat, he found the woman, who had been duped into thinking Nath was an Uber driver.
Police say Monty Nath, who listed his occupation as a bank manager for Key Bank, showed signs of intoxication, and the officer became concerned when he saw Nath’s pants and belt were undone.
During questioning by the officer, Nath said he had “messed around” with the passenger. He initially claimed he was the woman’s Uber driver, but when the officer demanded his credentials, he admitted that he was not an Uber driver.
Investigators say the woman did not have a clear memory of anything that happened, and then asked to be taken to the hospital.
CMHA police say based evidence that was gathered, Monty Nath was arrested on charges of rape and OVI, and he could face additional charges after the case is taken to the grand jury. Nath is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $25,000 bond.