Denver Lyft driver convicted of kidnapping and sexual assault

On Thursday, a jury convicted a Denver Lyft driver on 30 charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault.

John Edgar Pastor-Mendoza, 43, was convicted of kidnapping 12 women between 2018 and 2022, sexually assaulting two women and attempting to sexually assault seven others, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office. He was originally charged with 41 crimes, including 10 for kidnapping, 12 for sexual assault, 18 for attempted sexual assault and one for robbery.

Police say Pastor-Mendoza had approximately a pattern of picking up women who were under the influence of alcohol and sought safe transportation home by posing as the driver assigned to their ride request. Some reported passing out and waking up in an unfamiliar place, losing items such as underwear and cell phones, and being touched by an unknown man. At least two women he woke up in the backseat of a vehicle with a man sitting in it and suffered injuries as a result of the assault.

DNA linked the attacks to the same man, and nightclub workers helped identify Pastor-Mendoza. During a search of his house, missing property belonging to the victims was found.