FOX25 Investigates: Suspended Uber driver disputes sex offender status

BOSTON — A now-suspended driver with the popular ride sharing service, Uber, is apologizing after getting stopped at Logan Airport with expired registration, insurance and an invalid driver’s license.

“I risked myself getting arrested and  getting in trouble to make sure I kept a roof over our head and I apologize for doing that. I really should’ve found another way, I guess,” said Ron Deluca, 55, of North Andover.

Deluca said tough financial times forced him to drive for Uber to support his family. FOX25 Investigates also discovered Deluca is on the sex offender registry for a crime classified as “assault with intent to rape” in the early 1980’s.

“Anybody who knows me, who knows me personally, knows I’m about as worrisome as a cloudy day,” said Deluca. “34 years ago, I was accused of a crime I didn’t commit.”

Deluca did not want to discuss details of the incident, but says he did agree to a plea deal. While it meant a light jail sentence, the conviction would eventually place him on the Massachusetts sex offender registry.

Deluca says no one from Uber or a third party which conducts the company’s background checks ever asked him about his status on the sex offender registry.

Uber is defending its method of checking the backgrounds of drivers.

“The person passed the background check because in the state of Massachusetts, Level 2 sex offender records above a certain age are not digitized,” said Jason Post, Director of Public Policy for Uber.

While Uber says the issue is a “known problem” for all private employers, the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board told FOX25 that anyone who requests a “sex offender information check” could have known about Deluca’s status.

Instead, Uber pointed to exploring new technology to identify sex offenders not listed online.

“We have technology resources we want to bring to bear to fix this known vulnerability,” said Post.

FOX25 Investigates also uncovered Deluca has an 18-page driving record with the RMV, revealing frequent violations, license suspensions and registration revocations.

“Every time I get any form of tickets, I just haven’t had the money to pay them. So eventually when they expire and my license is suspended, it takes me time to garner up enough money to pay it back,” said Deluca.

He said Uber never followed up with him to check the status of his license after he was initially approved to drive for the company. Deluca said he completed almost 2000 rides with minimal complaints. Uber could not immediately confirm how long he had worked for the company.

Critics of the ride sharing company point to Deluca’s case as another reason to require ride sharing companies to fingerprint its drivers. It’s a proposal that Uber still opposes.

Deluca, is a Level 2 sex offender from a crime in the early 80s, according to public records FOX25 obtained from the North Andover Police Department.

"The charge was indecent assault with intent to rape, not attempted rape, but intent," Deluca told FOX25. "Thirty-four years ago, I was accused of a crime I didn't commit."

Deluca took a plea deal, and he told FOX25 it carried little jail time but included a conviction that later placed him on the sex offender registry.

Deluca said tough financial times forced him to drive for Uber to support his family.

“I risked myself getting arrested and  getting in trouble to make sure I kept a roof over our head and I apologize for doing that. I really should’ve found another way, I guess,” Deluca told FOX25.

"When I started working for Uber, my license wasn't inactive," Deluca said. "It wasn't like I had major accidents or hit a kid crossing the street."

Deluca told FOX25 Uber never asked about his sex offender status.

FOX25 asked Uber's Director of Public Policy Jason Post how Deluca was allowed to drive for the company.

"The person passed the background check because in the state of Massachusetts, level two sex offender records above a certain age are not digitized," Post said.

While Uber says the issue is a “known problem” for all private employers, the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board told FOX25 that anyone who requests a “sex offender information check” could have known about Deluca’s status.

Instead, Uber pointed to exploring new technology to identify sex offenders not listed online.

“We have technology resources we want to bring to bear to fix this known vulnerability,” said Post.

Cox Media Group