A Colorado ride-share driver is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting multiple female passengers over a span of nearly four years, prosecutors said Wednesday.
John Pastor-Mendoza, 41, is charged with 41 felony counts, including kidnapping his victim to commit a sexual offense, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and robbery.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said Pastor-Mendoza’s alleged crimes occurred from Sept. 16, 2018, to July 9, 2022, in the Denver area.
The prosecutor’s office said Pastor-Mendoza allegedly responded as the driver when the women used a ride-sharing app to request a ride. Prosecutors alleged that Pastor-Mendoza would either sexually assault his female victims in his vehicle or take them to his home and assault them there.
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According to an affidavit, Pastor-Mendoza would target heavily intoxicated women who would seek rides home from bars or nightclubs. Multiple women reported blacking out and later waking up in an unknown apartment or in a car, realizing they’d been sexually assaulted.
On July 21, 2022, Denver police reached a DNA match from evidence collected from three victims linking Pastor-Mendoza to the alleged sexual assaults. He was arrested on Aug. 19, 2022.
It was not immediately clear if Pastor-Mendoza had retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Uber said Pastor-Mendoza was never a driver with the company. Fox News Digital has reached out to Lyft for comment.
Police are asking anyone who believes they may have been assaulted by Pastor-Mendoza to call 720-913-2000.
