Akron police arrest serial rape suspect who offered women rides
Akron police have arrested a man whom they say raped multiple women after offering to give them rides in his car in recent months.
Mohamed Reeda, 24, of Akron was arrested Thursday at his home on three counts of rape, two counts of abduction and one count of attempted rape.
Police previously identified Reeda as a rideshare driver but later said he was not working for a ride share company at the time; he was offering rides to women he saw walking.
Akron Police Capt. Chris Brewer said police believe Reeda had previously worked for ride share companies but is not believed to have "contracted with any of these women through a legitimate ride share app."
"It looks like he was seeing them walking...and he would stop them and offer to give them a ride to wherever they wanted to go to and tell them it's dangerous for you to be out walking at night, trying to seem like a nice guy," he said. "They all described him as being very nice at the start of it.”
Late Tuesday, Lyft confirmed Reeda was a driver who was immediately removed from the service when the company learned of the allegations.
According to police, Reeda looked for women that were walking alone or with one other woman, lured them into his vehicle under false pretenses, took them to isolated places and raped them.
“This is a horrible thing. He's victimizing the women who are out by themselves, who are walking around, trying to act like a good Samaritan, 'Hey, it's dangerous out here. You need to get a ride home instead of being out here walking or something might happen to you,'" Brewer said. "And then he victimizes them and actually becomes the person who is the one that they need to worry about."
Uber driver sexual assault: Summit County Uber driver sentenced to 4½ years in prison for sexually assaulting passenger
Brewer said the incidents happened in Akron's Firestone Park and East Akron neighborhoods, between Brown and Arlington streets south of Exchange Street. He said the assaults happened both inside and outside his car, with at least one happening in an empty park.
Brewer said Reeda showed a knife in at least two cases, with police finding a knife that's believed to be the one he used while searching his house.
Brewer said the woman involved in the assaults are all between 20 and 40 years old. All of the incidents involved women who were alone, except for one incident that involved two women, during the evening or early morning hours.
Detectives said so far, they've identified eight women who were assaulted from throughout Akron from November 2022 until March, with additional charges expected to be filed against Reeda. Police said they believe there could be additional women who were assaulted who didn't report to police. (For this reason, the Beacon Journal, which does not typically publish photos of people charged with crimes, is publishing Reeda's photo.)
Of the eight women who were assaulted, Reeda has been charged in relation to four of them. Charges are pending on the other four cases, with police waiting for DNA evidence, video recovery or statements.
Brewer said there was a DNA match to Reeda in one of the cases, with Reeda's physical description and car description, a silver 2008 Kia Rondo, matching other cases.
According to Akron Municipal Court records, the incidents Reeda is charged with happened on Feb. 3, 2023, on East Exchange Street; Feb. 28, 2023, on Morgan Avenue; and Sept. 20, 2022, on Arlington Street. (It's not clear why police said the assaults started in November but the Arlington Street incident was reported in court records to have happened in September.)
The rape charges are first-degree felonies, and the abduction charges are third-degree felonies. Reeda was arraigned Friday, and his bond was set at 10% of $1 million, or $100,000. He's currently in the Summit County Jail, and his next court appearance is scheduled for April 28.
Anyone who had a similar contact with Reeda, whether they got into the vehicle or not, can contact the Akron police detective bureau at 330-375-2490.
To submit anonymous information, download the Akron PD app (on the App Store for iPhones or Google Play for Androids) and text Tips411.
"Our concern is because he's victimizing women who are at risk and have risky lifestyles that there may be more out there who haven't come forward because they're afraid they might get in trouble," said Brewer, who described "risky lifestyles" as "women who are out drinking by themselves, some of them may be prostitutes."
“Right now, we're hoping by putting this out to the media that if there are any other women who were victimized by him, they know they're not in trouble, regardless of what they might have been doing at the time," Brewer said. "We just want to find out who else might need our services, get them counseling if they need it, get them any medical attention they might need.”
Teresa Stafford: New CEO of Summit County victim agencies uses own healing to help other survivors
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Here are some resources for those who need help:
Call the confidential National Sexual Assault Hotline 24 hours a day at 800-656-4673 or chat at hotline.rainn.org/online.
Visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center at nsvrc.org.
Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network at rainn.org.
Call the 24/7 hotlines for the Battered Women’s Shelter (330-374-1111) or Rape Crisis Center (330-434-7273) in Summit and Medina counties.
Visit the Battered Women's Shelter and Rape Crisis Center of Summit and Medina counties at hopeandhealingresources.org. The agencies have locations at 974 E. Market St., Akron; 696 E. Washington St., Medina; and the University of Akron Student Recreation and Wellness Center, #246, 382 Carroll St., Akron.
“Removing this serial predator from our community has clearly made Akron a safer place," Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said in a statement. "The victims in this case experienced trauma that most will not be able to understand, and nothing can be done to undo the harms this suspect caused; however, I hope this arrest is the first step leading to bringing the suspect to justice and assist the victims in their journey towards healing.”
Beacon Journal reporter Derek Kreider contributed reporting. Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police arrest serial rape suspect Mohamed Reeda, offered rides
