MACCLENNY, Fla. – Deputies have arrested an Uber driver, accused of fondling a 15-year-old girl as he was driving her from her home in Jacksonville to her boyfriend’s home in Macclenny, according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.
Records show Ingo Krieg, 69, was also once a partial owner of a professional soccer team in Jacksonville.
Investigators said the teenager told deputies that she and Krieg, the Uber driver, had met on a previous day when she had requested a ride, and that the two exchanged telephone numbers at that time. According to deputies, Krieg picked up the teenager a second time on Tuesday, which is when the she said she was groped.
The Sheriff’s Office said the 15-year-old told them that Krieg made vulgar statements and she said Krieg offered to exchange the car ride for sexual favors. Investigators said the teenager was able to capture videos and photos of what happened on her cellphone.
“She obviously anticipated and was prepared for anything that could happen like that," said News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson. “That’s why she recorded it. She had physical evidence.”
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Krieg admitted to molesting the girl while driving in Baker County. He was placed under arrest and charged with lewd or lascivious molestation, a second-degree felony. According to his arrest report, Krieg told deputies the teen said she was 18.
Online records from the Jacksonville Armada’s website show Krieg was once part owner of the Jacksonville Tea Men soccer team in the 1980s. It was Jacksonville’s first professional soccer team.
On Wednesday, Krieg posted a $50,000 bond.
When News4Jax visited Krieg’s listed address on Thursday, a woman closed the front door.
Records show that in 1999, Krieg pleaded no contest to soliciting prostitution, and adjudication was withheld, which is not a conviction. Uber will not hire people with convictions for felonies, violent crimes or sex offenses within the past seven years.