Former Lyft driver accused of sexual assaulting, raping women in Renton, SeaTac Ghassan Shakir, 34, offered "off-app" rides and sexually assaulted women who took them, court documents say

A former Lyft driver was charged on April 22 after he was accused of handcuffing and sexually assaulting one woman in his car in January, and raping another woman in her hotel bathroom in SeaTac in March. A former Lyft driver was charged on April 22 after he was accused of handcuffing and sexually assaulting one woman in his car in January, and raping another woman in her hotel bathroom in SeaTac in March. Photo: Getty Images Photo: Getty Images Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Former Lyft driver accused of sexual assaulting, raping women in Renton, SeaTac 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

A former Lyft driver was accused Monday of handcuffing and sexually assaulting one woman in his car and raping another woman in her hotel bathroom in SeaTac earlier this year, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

The Bellevue Police Department arrested Ghassan Shakir, 34, Wednesday after they investigated a reported sexual assault from earlier this year in January. He was charged with one count of second-degree rape, one count of first-degree kidnapping and one count of indecent liberties.

Bellevue police worked with a detective from the King County Sheriff's Office to locate Shakir in Kirkland after learning KCSO was working on an investigation of a rape under similar circumstances. They also identified their suspect as Shakir.

The KCSO detective was told by the Seattle Police Department that a sexual assault victim from December 2018 identified Shakir as the suspect. There may be more victims, and anyone who believes they've been targeted by the suspect was urged to report it to police, Bellevue police said in a news release.

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On Jan. 21, a woman ordered a shared-Lyft ride from a bar in Bellevue. After a 10 minute trip, the car pulled into a Bellevue hotel to pick up another passenger. Surveillance footage showed the woman getting out of the Lyft, waiting 10 minutes and getting into another one that pulled up.

The second Lyft was driven by Shakir, who had his Lyft app closed and picked up the woman who didn't have her app open either, according to probable cause documents. He was suspected of giving multiple "off-app" rides during his time as an Uber and Lyft driver, charging papers said.

She told police she woke up in the front seat of Shakir's red Toyota Prius to him forcibly touching her breasts. When she began to scream and fight him off, he allegedly handcuffed her. Police found the handcuffs described in his car during a later search warrant.

He continued to forcibly touch her but after she continued screaming, he removed the handcuffs and let her out of the car, she told police.

However, she had no idea where she was. She was from Arizona, visiting her friend in Bellevue for the weekend. She ran into a Denny's and learned she was in Renton.

KCSO were investigating a reported rape that occurred in SeaTac at the end of March. Shakir allegedly saw a woman and her friend from a casino on March 31 and offered them a ride. They agreed to pay in cash.

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When they got to the hotel, he asked to use the bathroom. When she showed him in, he said he couldn't find the toilet. As she walked into the bathroom he pinned her to the wall, then the floor and raped her. She received a sexual-assault exam after waking up, remembering something happening and seeing a condom wrapper on the floor.

Shakir told police he had helped the women to her room, used the bathroom and nothing more. He offered to give DNA evidence but when told by police of the condom wrapper he said he wanted to talk to an attorney before giving DNA.

Both cases involved rides that were not ordered through the Lyft app. A Seattle-area man, Israel Ramos-Islas, was charged earlier this month with first-degree rape after he allegedly posed as a woman's Uber driver and raped her in his car.

The Bellevue Police Department urged people to verify their driver, the license plate of the vehicle and to ask "What's my name?" to the driver.

Shakir was in held on $2 million bail and had an arraignment scheduled for May 6.