Texas contract driver molested woman with autism, stopped when she cried, affidavit says
A DART contract driver kissed a woman who has autism and later molested her before he stopped last week in Garland when the 23-year-old woman started crying, according to an affidavit.
After the sexual assault, the bus driver, who had previously told the woman that he loved her, drove her to her job in Garland, and left her there, where she told her supervisors and called her mother, the affidavit says.
An investigation led to the arrest of 44-year-old Samson Assefa Lemma of Wylie. He was taken into custody Tuesday night at his home.
Lemma faces a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a disabled person.
An affidavit written by Garland Detective Karl King provided these details on the case:
The 23-year-old Garland woman, who is autistic, had ridden a DART bus to her job in Garland every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
On June 6, the woman was picked up at 9:07 a.m. by the bus driven by Lemma.
In the past, the woman had complained to DART about Lemma because he was making comments about his love for her, according to the affidavit. He had even taken her for ice cream one time.
On June 6, Lemma took a different route to her Garland job, stopped and pulled tabs off bandages and placed a bandage over a camera in the bus.
Detectives noted they watched a video from the bus, showing the woman in the vehicle and Lemma placing the bandage to cover the camera.
At some point during the stop, Lemma kissed the woman on the cheek and lips while she told him no. She later told detectives he touched her breast under her shirt and touched her vagina, according to the affidavit.
Lemma tried to rape her, but he stopped when she started crying, according to the court document.
The woman was no longer in the bus when the bandage was removed from the camera, according to the video.
After he molested her, the driver drove her to her Garland job and left her at the side of the building instead of the front of the business, according to the affidavit.
On Tuesday, the woman provided more details on the assault, but her father had to translate because she sometimes spoke in Spanish, police said.
Garland detectives believe it’s possible that other people may have been molested by the suspect.
If anyone has addition information involving Lemma, residents should call Garland police at 972-485-4840.
