Serial rapist who posed as SF rideshare driver convicted, faces more than 100 years in prison

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A man accused of posing as a rideshare driver in San Francisco and raping four women in the last decade is set to spend more than 100 years in prison.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced the conviction on Friday and talked about the key evidence that led the jury to reach this verdict Wednesday.

A once cold case now resulting in a conviction of a serial rapist in San Francisco.

"After many years of waiting, justice has finally been served," said District Attorney Jenkins.

Orlando Vilchez Lazo, 44, is facing more than 100 years to life in state prison for attacking, kidnapping and sexually assaulting multiple women.

His first victim: a 21-year-old coming out of a nightclub in 2013. He took her to "an abandoned, industrial area, locked the car door and proceeded to rape her."

"It began to be clear that the strategy of this serial rapist was to present himself as a rideshare driver," said Jenkins.

RESOURCES: Get help with sexual assault, rape, and abuse

For five years, the DNA of an unknown rapist sat in a database. Then in 2018, there was a match.

Three other victims also in their early 20s reported a driver with a rideshare decal on his vehicle, tricked them into believing he was the driver they were waiting for when they exited night clubs in the SoMa neighborhood. All instances report a similar pattern of being taken to Mansell Street where the driver violently raped them.

An SFPD undercover team noticed a suspicious driver circling the area of Howard and Second Street at night and pulled him over. It was Vilchez Lazo.

"Some of the victims were able to identify Mr. Vilchez Lazo out of a line up. Multiple phones of their that he took from them so that they couldn't call for help were found in his residence," said Jenkins.

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In a statement, the San Francisco Public Defenders office said they were disappointed by the verdict and accused SFPD of acting "...unconstitutionally by collecting key evidence from Mr. Vilchez Lazo without a warrant. We intend to appeal, and we're optimistic that the appellate court will render an appropriate ruling."

Vilchez Lazo is an undocumented immigrant from Peru.

Uber and Lyft have worked for years to increase safety features for riders and passengers including background checks, but Ivy Lee, director of the Mayor's Office for Victims' Rights, doesn't think the changes and new policies have been enough.

"The rideshare company should immediately have zero tolerance they should share information with every other rideshare company that says this person can no longer drive," said Lee.

We asked DA Jenkins about the five year gap between attacks and if there were other victims.

"At this time, I think we all have that same question. Unfortunately, we don't know," said Jenkins.

Lee is encouraging any other survivor to come forward.

"It's safe to do it now, if you want to. If you do want to there are many resources that are available to be there for you to listen to your story and believe you," said Lee.

DA Jenkin and Lee both emphasized the importance of reporting these crimes and getting the DNA into the national database.

Vilchez Lazo sentencing has not been scheduled, but is expected to happen later this month.

Full statement by the SF Public Defenders office:

"While we are disappointed in the jury's verdict, we appreciate their diligence over the last few months," said Deputy Public Defender Max Breecker, who represented Vilchez Lazo. "This was a difficult case that was marred by clear misconduct by the San Francisco Police Department, which acted unconstitutionally by collecting key evidence from Mr. Vilchez Lazo without a warrant. We intend to appeal, and we're optimistic that the appellate court will render an appropriate ruling."