CHICAGO — A judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to 13 years in prison for raping a woman he picked up from a Lakeview bar while working as an Uber driver. He received an additional seven years for sexually abusing a child in a separate case, court records show.
Christopher Molina, 34, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault during the commission of another felony and criminal sexual abuse of a child younger than 13, according to court records. Judge Nicholas Kantas ordered him to serve the sentences consecutively.
In early June 2022, a 25-year-old woman told police she went out for a night of fun, stopping at Kirkwood Bar & Grill, then making her way to Jake’s Pub, 2932 North Clark, with co-workers. Video showed her leaving Jake’s around 1:15 a.m.
The woman couldn’t remember what happened until she woke up in the back seat of a car, her hands restrained by a Velcro-like tie. She noticed that she was in a well-lit residential parking garage with many other vehicles and personal property.
Prosecutors said a man entered the back seat, removed the woman’s clothing, and raped her for about 15 minutes. The woman feared for her life during the assault and repeatedly told the man that she did not want to have sex with him and did not want it to happen, she said.
Following the assault, the man drove the victim to her parents’ West Loop home. Prosecutors said he repeatedly told the victim that he was sorry, saying his behavior that night exposed his bad side and that his girlfriend was mean to him.
Chicago police traced the woman’s Uber ride transactions, which showed her driver was named Christopher, and then spoke with the registered owner of the driver’s car. The owner, who rents vehicles out, told police that Christopher Molina, 31, was the person who rented the car on the night of the attack.
Cops arrested Molina after the victim identified him in a photo lineup.
One year after charges were filed in the case, a grand jury indicted Molina on multiple counts of sexually assaulting and abusing a child in the 1700 block of North Spaulding, according to court records.
A Chicago police database shows that the crime occurred in February 2022, about four months before Molina allegedly attacked the woman in Lakeview.
