A former Uber driver who raped one passenger and sexually assaulted more than a dozen other women was sentenced Wednesday for his crimes.
One of his victims was 13-years-old.
John David Sanchez, 52, sat emotionless as the judge sentenced him to 80 years and 4 months in prison.
His defense attorney argued he felt remorse and should serve his sentences for each victim concurrently. The judge and prosecutor disagreed.
Sanchez pled guilty in August to 34 counts including rape and sodomy of an unconscious person and felony sexual assault 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.
According to a prosecutor, Sanchez piled young girls, including his 13-year-old victim, with Xanax, marijuana and alcohol before raping them and videotaping the assaults.
Local
Prosecutors credit a 26-year-old woman, who reported a rape during an Uber ride from a bar in North Park, with helping investigators catch Sanchez and find several other victims.
On February 25, The woman got into a silver 2012 Scion XB at approximately 2 a.m. for a ride from North Park to El Cajon. The woman, who was intoxicated, 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.”
The driver raped the passenger, telling her: “you want this.”
Sanchez was arrested approximately one month after that first case and was terminated from his employment with Uber immediately after.
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 had no criminal record prior.
The remaining charges all involve sexual assaults that occurred in his home, according to the DA.
Investigators were able to find 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.
