Lyft driver accused in series of rapes targeting clients

A 28-year-old man is accused of raping multiple women while identifying himself as a driver for ride-hailing services Lyft and Uber.

Police arrested Talyle Meaderds of Grand Prairie in October after investigating multiple sexual assault cases. He faces three counts of aggravated sexual assault, jail records show.

Meaderds was already in jail on Oct. 15, when a woman told police he fit the description of a man who raped her in August, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit.

The woman met Meaderds in July and he identified himself as a Lyft driver, according to the affidavit. She texted him on Aug. 1 to request a ride in Red Bird.

The woman said Meaderds drove her to west Oak Cliff, where he forced her to perform various sex acts at gunpoint, according to the affidavit. After the attack, she said he took her phone, ordered her out of his SUV and fired three gunshots as she ran away.

The woman learned police were investigating a similar attack that happened a week after she was assaulted. The case was similar to at least two other assaults, police said, and each victim identified Meaderds during a photo lineup, the warrant states.

Police arrested Meaderds on Oct. 8, and he told officials he was a Lyft and Uber driver, according to the affidavit. A representative from Lyft confirmed that he had worked for the ride-hailing service but had since been banned.

“Safety is fundamental to Lyft and the behavior described is terrifying,” the company said in a written statement. “As soon as we became aware of the allegations, we permanently removed the driver’s access to Lyft. We have been in touch with the authorities and will continue to support their investigation in every way we can.”

Meaderds remained in the Dallas County Jail on Saturday with bail set at $200,000.