(7News) An Uber driver accused of raping his daughter’s 15-year-old female friend was released from jail last week without having to pay any money, court records obtained by 7News reveal.
Montgomery County Police have charged Isaias Mendez, 41, of Gaithersburg, with sex abuse of a minor, second-degree rape, and third-degree sex offense.
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Montgomery County Police arrested Mendez on June 10, one day after their forensic interview with the 15-year-old girl. The following afternoon, Montgomery County District Court Sherri Koch ordered Mendez remain in jail without bail while awaiting trial.
Two weeks later, Montgomery County District Court Judge Holly Reed came to the same conclusion during a bond reconsideration hearing.
Undeterred, defense attorney Rodney Hermann filed a “motion for bond review” with the court. In that two-page document, Hermann noted that the maternal grandmother of Mendez’s children was “happy” to have him live at her home along the 8600 block of Locust Grove Drive in Laurel.
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According to court records, on July 9, Judge Koch reversed her initial decision and provided Mendez with a $10,000 unsecured personal bond. That allowed the accused child rapist to be released from jail without putting down any money or property as collateral.
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Per company protocol, Uber performs criminal and motor vehicle background checks when a driver first applies to use the platform. The company added that it re-runs background checks every year and utilizes technology that sends an alert should authorities charge or arrest a driver, like Mendez, for a crime.
According to court records, Mendez was born in El Salvador.Â
