DENVER, CO- On Friday, March 14th, a former rideshare driver convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a dozen women passengers was sentenced to 290 years to life in prison.
According to NBC News, Denver District Attorney John Walsh said that John Pastor-Mendoza sexually assaulted the women between 2018 and 2022, while posing as the rideshare driver his victims had requested. On October 30, 2024, Pastor-Mendoza was convicted by a jury on 30 criminal counts, including counts of kidnapping and sexual assault.
During the sentencing hearing, victim Rachel Perry told District Judge Karen Brody, "I stand before you today as a survivor of a true monster. I was taken in March of 2019. Since then, life has never been the same." Walsh said that in some instance, Pastor-Mendoza assaulted the women in his vehicle and in others he drove them to another location where he assaulted them.
At the sentencing, Walsh praised the courage of the victims. He said, "Pastor-Mendoza victimized 12 women in a calculated, cruel and contemptible series of crimes over four years. Judge Brody's severe sentence is entirely appropriate."
On Friday, March 14th, Pastor-Mendoza said that he was innocent, adding, "I never laid a hand on anybody. I wasn't raised like that." He was arrested on August 19, 2022. During the alleged incidents he was working for Lyft. In an arrest warrant affidavit, police said that some of the women reported that they had hailed rides after drinking, mostly at bars, and awoke to being sexually assaulted.
Police said that DNA evidence helped confirm that the same suspect was involved in these incidents. Perry and several other victims spoke at the sentencing hearing. She said, "I survived a monster — we all did. And today, I feel like we got justice." According to CBS News, out of the 12 incidents, three of them included a kidnapping but no sexual assault attempt.
Prosecutors said that Pastor-Mendoza used his rideshare driver system to respond falsely as the driver when the women requested rides and he then drove the women in his car without them realizing he was faking that he was the correct driver. Walsh said in a statement, "We should all be grateful for the courage of Pastor-Mendoza's victims, who came forward and testified at trial to ensure that Pastor-Mendoza will no longer have the opportunity to harm our community.
Thanks are also due to the prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates and paralegals in the Denver DA's office, as well as the detectives and digital evidence analysts with the Denver Police Department, for their outstanding work on the case."
According to NBC News, Denver District Attorney John Walsh said that John Pastor-Mendoza sexually assaulted the women between 2018 and 2022, while posing as the rideshare driver his victims had requested. On October 30, 2024, Pastor-Mendoza was convicted by a jury on 30 criminal counts, including counts of kidnapping and sexual assault.
During the sentencing hearing, victim Rachel Perry told District Judge Karen Brody, "I stand before you today as a survivor of a true monster. I was taken in March of 2019. Since then, life has never been the same." Walsh said that in some instance, Pastor-Mendoza assaulted the women in his vehicle and in others he drove them to another location where he assaulted them.
At the sentencing, Walsh praised the courage of the victims. He said, "Pastor-Mendoza victimized 12 women in a calculated, cruel and contemptible series of crimes over four years. Judge Brody's severe sentence is entirely appropriate."
On Friday, March 14th, Pastor-Mendoza said that he was innocent, adding, "I never laid a hand on anybody. I wasn't raised like that." He was arrested on August 19, 2022. During the alleged incidents he was working for Lyft. In an arrest warrant affidavit, police said that some of the women reported that they had hailed rides after drinking, mostly at bars, and awoke to being sexually assaulted.
Police said that DNA evidence helped confirm that the same suspect was involved in these incidents. Perry and several other victims spoke at the sentencing hearing. She said, "I survived a monster — we all did. And today, I feel like we got justice." According to CBS News, out of the 12 incidents, three of them included a kidnapping but no sexual assault attempt.
Prosecutors said that Pastor-Mendoza used his rideshare driver system to respond falsely as the driver when the women requested rides and he then drove the women in his car without them realizing he was faking that he was the correct driver. Walsh said in a statement, "We should all be grateful for the courage of Pastor-Mendoza's victims, who came forward and testified at trial to ensure that Pastor-Mendoza will no longer have the opportunity to harm our community.
Thanks are also due to the prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates and paralegals in the Denver DA's office, as well as the detectives and digital evidence analysts with the Denver Police Department, for their outstanding work on the case."
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