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Photo: Podstawko, Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
A former rideshare driver has been sentenced to six life terms after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting multiple women in San Francisco over a five-year period, CBS San Francisco’s Tim Fang reported.
Orlando Vilchez Lazo, 44, was a former Lyft driver, according to the company. Uber said he never drove for its platform. Prosecutors said Vilchez Lazo posed as a rideshare driver to pick up young women leaving bars and nightclubs before taking them to isolated areas and assaulting them.
A San Francisco judge sentenced him to six life sentences totaling 150 years to life in state prison.
Vilchez Lazo was convicted in March on 12 felony counts, including kidnapping with intent to commit rape, kidnapping and multiple sexual assault offenses.
Attacks Spanned From 2013 to 2018
Authorities connected Vilchez Lazo to assaults dating back to 2013.
Prosecutors said the first known attack involved a 21-year-old college student whom Vilchez Lazo picked up after she left a bar in San Francisco’s Mission District.
That case eventually went cold.
Years later, investigators received a break after DNA from a February 2018 assault was entered into CODIS, the national DNA database. Two additional assaults occurred in May and June 2018 before Vilchez Lazo was arrested that July.
Police referred to him during the investigation as the “Rideshare Rapist.”
Lyft Confirmed Vilchez Lazo Had Driven for the Platform
The case also drew attention to Vilchez Lazo’s connection with the rideshare industry.
Lyft acknowledged that Vilchez Lazo had been one of its drivers and said he had misrepresented his immigration status on his application, according to CBS San Francisco. Lazo is a Peruvian national who was living in the country illegally at the time of the crimes, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The criminal case does not establish that every assault occurred during a legitimate Lyft ride. Prosecutors said Vilchez Lazo posed as a rideshare driver when approaching women.
Rideshare sexual assault cases can raise different legal questions depending on whether an alleged assault occurred during a booked ride, involved an active driver or involved someone exploiting the appearance of being a legitimate rideshare driver.
Learn More About Lyft Sexual Assault Lawsuits
Survivors have filed lawsuits alleging sexual assault by Lyft drivers and challenging the company’s driver screening, safety practices and response to reports of misconduct.
Learn more about the litigation, legal claims and options available to survivors in our Lyft Sexual Assault Lawsuit Guide.
DNA Evidence Helped Link Multiple Cases
The prosecution took years to reach trial.
Proceedings were delayed by multiple postponements, challenges involving DNA evidence and the difficulty of reconstructing incidents involving several survivors over a five-year period.
Ultimately, prosecutors were able to connect the cases and obtain convictions on all 12 felony counts presented at trial.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the crimes and ensured Vilchez Lazo would no longer pose a threat to the community.
Prosecutors Praise Survivors Who Testified
Assistant District Attorney Michelle Brass also acknowledged the women who participated in the prosecution, noting the length of the case and the difficulty of testifying about assaults that had occurred years earlier.
The verdict and sentencing bring the criminal prosecution to a close after an investigation that stretched back more than a decade from the first known assault.
For survivors of rideshare sexual assault, however, criminal cases are separate from civil claims that may examine whether a rideshare company could bear responsibility for driver screening, safety policies, prior complaints or its response to reports of sexual misconduct.
