A San Francisco man who posed as a rideshare driver before kidnapping and sexually assaulting women has been sentenced to six life terms, amounting to 150 years to life in state prison.
Orlando Vilchez Lazo, 44, was sentenced by Judge Eric Fleming after being convicted of 12 felony counts arising from attacks on four women between 2013 and 2018, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said.
The convictions included kidnapping with intent to commit rape, kidnapping, rape by force or fear and sexual penetration with a foreign object. Prosecutors said Vilchez Lazo targeted women waiting for pre-booked rides after leaving bars and nightclubs, then drove them to isolated locations.
Rideshare rapist attacks linked by DNA
The first attack took place in 2013, when a 21-year-old college student was collected after leaving a bar in San Francisco’s Mission District. Vilchez Lazo allegedly drove her to an abandoned industrial area, locked the doors and raped her.
The case remained unsolved until DNA from a February 2018 assault was entered into a national database and matched evidence from the earlier attack. Two further assaults were reported in May and June that year.
In the February incident, prosecutors said Vilchez Lazo approached two women in San Francisco’s South of Market district after their booked ride was cancelled. He persuaded them that he could drive them home, then allegedly told one woman’s friend to leave the vehicle before driving away with the victim.
In the later attacks, prosecutors said he used a vehicle displaying rideshare markings and falsely confirmed that he was the women’s driver. The victims were taken to Mansell Street, where they were assaulted and threatened with sharp or metal objects.
One woman escaped after being cut and sought help at a nearby home on Goettingen Street, prompting a call to police.
San Francisco police arrested Vilchez Lazo in July 2018 after undercover officers noticed a vehicle with rideshare stickers matching the description of the suspect’s car circling near Howard and Second streets. DNA evidence ultimately linked him to all four assaults.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the crimes and would ensure that Vilchez Lazo’s “reign of terror” had ended. She added that she hoped the punishment would bring the survivors some comfort as they continued to recover.
Assistant District Attorney Michele Brass, who prosecuted the case, said the women had shown courage and strength during what she described as an “excruciatingly long process”.
