Uber admits mistake in accepting sex assault suspect

Uber says an internal investigation found it mistakenly granted driver status to a man now accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger.

WFAA-TV of Dallas-Fort Worth reports Uber Dallas General Manager Leandre Johns revealed the problem in a letter to Dallas code compliance officials.

Johns said Talal Ali Chammout (shah-MOOT’) presented a fake city permit to obtain Uber approval as a driver. He said since the permit was accepted as genuine, Uber thought he had already passed a city background check, so the company did not perform one of its own.

Officials say Chammout, because of a felony on his record, would have failed the Dallas background check. Records show Chammout was released in 2012 after serving time on a federal weapons charge.