On Tuesday, April 14, at 8:18 p.m. a 24-year-old female showed up at a residential security gate on Padaro Lane in Carpinteria, CA, saying she had just been forcibly raped. When Santa Barbara Sheriff Deputies arrived on the scene, they found the woman in the street.
The woman told the deputies that she had been forcibly raped by a Lyft driver at an unknown location on Padaro Lane. The assault took place inside the vehicle. The woman was transported to the hospital where she received medical treatment and a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam.
The identity of the suspect is unknown although a massive search effort was put forth in an attempt to apprehend the perpetrator. The case is on-going. Officers with the Criminal Investigation Department have taken over the investigation after arriving to assist in the search.