Authorities Wednesday sought additional victims after arresting a man who allegedly posed as a rideshare driver and sexually assaulted a woman in Costa Mesa.
The investigation began after officers from the Costa Mesa Police Department were called to a hospital about a sex assault victim on Feb. 27. The responding officers learned the intoxicated woman had previously been picked up by a man who pretended to be a rideshare driver.
After promising to take her home, the suspect instead took the victim to the area of Newport Boulevard and East 21st Street and sexually assaulted her, police said. After the assault, the man dropped the woman off at a random location.
Investigators soon identified the suspect as Felipe Rico-Ceballos, 43, Ontario, and arrested him on multiple counts of sexual assault and kidnapping.
The suspect indeed worked for a rideshare company, according to police. And because of “the nature of his employment,” detectives have determined there may be additional people victimized by Rico-Ceballos.
Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to contact Detective E. Peralta at 714-754-5039 or Sergeant J. Jacobi at 714-754-5352.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against Rico-Ceballos, police said.