A Renton man has been charged with a sex crime after allegedly assaulting an underage girl while he worked as a Lyft driver.

On April 14, Martin Njogu Njoki, 43, whose last known address was in Renton, was charged with indecent liberties and unlawful imprisonment. According to charging documents, these charges stem from him allegedly forcing a 16-year-old girl to have sexual contact with him while he was her Lyft driver for a ride from SeaTac to Bellevue.

Details of the incident

According to charging documents, in the early morning of Feb. 17, an 18-year-old man ordered a Lyft ride for his 16-year-old girlfriend from his SeaTac home to her Bellevue home. Documents state that 20 minutes later, the victim called the man and told her that the Lyft driver had touched her. Documents state that the victim then shared with officers what occurred.

Documents state that the victim said she sneaked out of her house without her parents knowing, and she took a Lyft to SeaTac from Bellevue, which her boyfriend had ordered for her. She said she was at her boyfriend’s home until about 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., and then he ordered another Lyft for her to return home.

According to documents, the victim said when the Lyft arrived, she opened the front door to get inside the vehicle, but there was stuff in the front seat. Documents state that she went to sit in the back seat instead, but then Njoki told her to sit in the front seat.

Documents state that she and Njoki conversed during the ride back, and when she told him that she was visiting her boyfriend, he said something to the effect of, “Ooh, you bad girl.” Documents state that Njoki then commented on how he was twice her age.

Documents state that as they got close to her home, he told the victim, “You know I like you.” The victim said that she wanted to be polite because she felt like Njoki was in control of her safety, documents state.

According to documents, Njoki then asked the victim, “Do you kiss and tell?” and then asked her if she would like to kiss him. Documents state that she then told Njoki that she was uncomfortable, but that he kept asking her about kissing.

According to documents, the victim said when they got to the drop-off location, Njoki started asking her if she wanted to feel him, and she said she had to leave, and had a boyfriend. Documents state that she said she was uncomfortable and scared because Njoki was considerably larger than her.

According to documents, the victim then said that Njoki made her feel him over his clothes, and she told him she had to go, with tears in her eyes. Documents state that she attempted to leave the car, but the door was locked.

According to documents, she tried to unlock the door, but Njoki grabbed her arm and told her to feel him. Documents state that the victim said that Njoki then groped her, tried putting his hands down her pants and tried to kiss her, but she stopped him.

Documents state Njoki’s Lyft app had shown he had given the victim a ride on the date of the alleged incident. Documents state that the victim then picked Njoki out of a photo lineup.

According to documents, when officers contacted Lyft about Njoki’s account and told Lyft about the alleged incident, his account was deactivated. According to documents, when confronted by police, Njoki told officers that he had also been kicked off Uber due to background issues.

“Martin replied via email to Lyft with ‘I was not involved in any of the said incident, the rider just got annoyed with me because I didn’t let them sit upfront, but it’s ok.’ He then asked to be paid for his accrued sick leave,” documents state.

According to documents, Njoki is a Kenyan national with a work visa in the U.S., but he said he plans to return to Kenya because he wasn’t achieving the American dream. Documents state that Njoki said he has a pregnant wife and five children in Kenya.

Njoki is currently in custody at the King County Correctional Facility on $150,000 bail. According to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney, the KCPAO asked that if Njoki were to post bail, that he be placed in electronic home detention with GPS monitoring. Additionally, the KCPAO asked that Njoki be prohibited from having any contact with minors without exception and to surrender any weapons. Njoki’s next court hearing is April 24, his arraignment, where an initial plea is entered.