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Rideshare Driver Sentenced To 6 Years In Prison For Raping Passenger

VAN NUYS (CBSLA) — A 39-year old rideshare driver was sentenced Tuesday to six years in state prison for sexually assaulting a Los Angeles woman two years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

Octavio Alvarez Gomez of Canoga Park was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to Deputy District Attorney Ranna Jahanshahi.

Alvarez Gomez pleaded no contest last month to one felony count of rape of an unconscious person.

On Oct. 2, 2018, Gomez, who drove for both Lyft and Uber but was driving for Lyft that night, picked up the victim from a bar after she ordered a ride to take her home.

Instead of dropping off the victim at the requested location, Alvarez Gomez continued driving some distance at which time he stopped his vehicle in a secluded area and raped the victim, the prosecutors said.

Police eventually tracked Alvarez Gomez down last September and arrested him while he was driving for Lyft. He was booked on suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to commit a sexual assault, rape, sexual penetration with a foreign object and felony sexual battery.

He has remained behind bars since then.

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