LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating an alleged sexual assault in Luzerne County.
Edwin Valentin Perez, 39, of Hazle Township, is accused of sexually assaulting a male while he was working as a ride-share driver. Police believe that the victim was incapacitated by an inhalant-type substance during his ride and assaulted.
"I was completely lost. I didn't even know where I was at or anything like that," said the victim.
What started as a Lyft ride like any other quickly changed in Nanticoke Tuesday night. A young man, who will remain anonymous, says he got into a Lyft ride and quickly realized something wasn't right.
"When I got back in the car down at Cocoa Hut, I got in the vehicle. He backed up so fast, and he had tinted windows and stuff like that, so nobody could see what he was doing. He wasn't acting himself all of a sudden," described the victim.
State police say the driver, Edwin Valentin Perez, was driving a red 2012 Toyota Rav4. The victim says Valentin Perez began to speed, almost hitting other cars. That's when the victim says Valentin Perez then pulled out a brown bottle with an unknown substance inside.
"He started shaking this bottle which had this thunder symbol on it, and it was like a strong odor and stuff like that, and I was trying to roll my window down before it got too late," the victim recalls.
The victim says he tried to escape from the car but couldn't because of child safety locks. Then he passed out.
"When I kind of woke back up, my pants were down."
The victim reported the incident to state police almost immediately after being dropped off from the ride.
"I did let the state police detectives know that if I had anything to protect myself, I would've used it."
The victim said the car returned hours later and was parked outside his home. The car left when the victim approached it with a bat. Valentin Perez was taken into custody by state police the next day.
Newswatch 16 reached out to Lyft for a statement. A spokesperson says they contacted the victim for support and have permanently banned the driver from the platform. They are now assisting police with the investigation.
The victim says he had trouble discussing what happened but wanted to share his story.
"You don't know if it happened to anybody else and stuff like that."
Perez is locked up in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.
State police are asking anyone who suspects that may have been a victim of a crime under similar circumstances to contact them at Troop P Wilkes-Barre Criminal Investigation Unit at 570-822-5515.