A former Uber driver admitted to raping a female passenger and sexually assaulting as many as 14 other women, including a victim who was just 13-years-old at the time of the attack, according to the San Diego District Attorney.
John David Sanchez, 52, pleaded guilty to all 34 charges related to the rape and sexual assaults on Monday in court, the day his case was supposed to go to trial, according to the District Attorney's office.
Those charges included rape and sodomy of an unconscious person, felony sexual assault charges for incidents that occurred between 2011 and 2014 in the City of San Diego.
He also pleaded guilty to performing lewd acts on a child under the age of 14, trying to prevent a witness from reporting a crime and employment of a minor to perform prohibited acts.
A deputy district attorney told NBC 7 the final count pertains to the production of child pornography. NBC 7 has learned Sanchez worked as a DJ and ran a "video production and distribution" company.
Some of the women were unconscious as a result of drinking or drugs at the time the attacks occurred, the DA said.
Sanchez was first arrested for raping a female passenger earlier this year. The remaining charges all involve sexual assaults that occurred in his home, according to the DA.
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The initial victim was a woman who used the ride-hailing app Uber on February 25 from a bar in North Park. The woman got into a silver 2012 Scion XB at approximately 2 a.m.
Court documents say the woman, who was too intoxicated to drive home to El Cajon, began to vomit in the car. The driver pulled over and got close to the woman, stroking her leg, court documents alleged.
About a block from the final destination, the woman began to vomit again. At this point, court records said the woman “opened the door and began dry heaving … the driver again moved to the backseat and again tried consoling her.”
Police allege the driver raped the woman, telling her: “you want this.”
The victim reported the attack to police. She told them her driver’s name was John, and he drove a Scion. San Diego police obtained Uber records and identified the driver as John Sanchez, according to court documents.
Sanchez has no criminal record, police said. He was terminated from his employment with Uber immediately after his arrest.
The ride-hailing company issued a statement after Sanchez's initial arrest, saying "Uber takes safety incidents like this very seriously" and has "been working closely with law enforcement."
Sanchez was arrested approximately one month after that first case.
Investigators later found other women and girls who had been assaulted by Sanchez in 2007, 2011 and 2013. At the time, the women did not report the attacks.
When sentenced on Nov. 8, Sanchez faces a maximum of 96 years and four months in prison, according to a DA spokesman.
