A Lyft driver is accused of sexually assaulting a passenger during her ride home, California officials said.

In September, a Los Angeles woman called a Lyft from a restaurant, Santa Monica police said on Facebook.

The driver was later identified as Fernando Macias Morales, 34, officers said in the April 10 post.

The passenger “fell asleep in the car and woke up to inappropriate touching”, officials said.

Once they got to her home, he offered to walk her to her door, but she refused, police said.

When she got inside, she realised hours had passed since she’d gotten in the Lyft, authorities said.

On April 5, Morales was arrested on charges of kidnapping to commit a sexual act, oral copulation of a person intoxicated or under sedation, and sexual penetration of a person intoxicated or under sedation, officials said.

“Safety is fundamental to Lyft. The behaviour described is reprehensible and has no place in the Lyft community or anywhere in society,” a Lyft spokesperson told McClatchy News. “Upon learning of this incident, we permanently banned the driver from the Lyft platform, contacted the rider to offer support, and assisted law enforcement with their investigation.”

Morales pleaded not guilty, according to an April 10 news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 32 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.

 - TNS