Lyft driver convicted of raping sleeping passenger in the back seat of his car

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted Joseph Piard of rape for an attack on an unconscious woman in the back of his ride-share car in 2019, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Piard, 26, of Mattapan, who already had two other passengers, picked up the victim around 1:45 a.m. on July 31, 2019 and drove her to a Beacon Street address, but it was the wrong one, so she got back in the car - and then fell asleep and stayed asleep even as Piard delivered the other two passengers to their destinations, the DA's office says.

The next memory the victim had was waking up around 7 a.m. in an unknown area. Piard told her she had fallen asleep, and he waited until she woke up. He assured her nothing had happened. Piard then drove the victim home. The victim felt that something had happened to her. After speaking to a family member she decided to go to the hospital. She underwent a sexual assault examination and met with detectives.

After an investigation that included matching Pirard's DNA to that found in the exam, Pirard admitted to detectives he had, in fact, had sex with the sleeping woman in his back seat.

The jury did acquit him of indecent assault and battery. He is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 19, the DA's office says.