Lyons Police charge Lyft driver with Battery over alleged sexual assault

Lyons Police said they filed Battery charges Dec. 10, 2018 against a Lyft driver who allegedly sexually harassed a 17 year old female passenger in early October after the mother brother the girl in to report the incident to police.

A 40 year old driver for Lyft was arrested and charged with Battery Monday following an incident in which he sexually harassed and tried to have sex with a 17 year old female, according to the Lyons Police Department.

The suspect, Anthony Vicari, is from Chicago and was called to pick up the 17 year old girl at her friend’s home in Worth, Illinois and drive her to her home in Lyons. The next day, on Oct. 13, 2018, the mother brought her daughter to the Lyons Police Department and informed police that the driver had sexually harassed her daughter.

The 17-year-old girl said that while transporting to her home, Vicari made repeated sexual advances toward her and asked her to go to a motel with him. While driving this female, when he would stop at the stop lights, he would rub her thigh, leg and ask sexual questions to her about performing sex, the girl told police.

Lyons Police charged Anthony Vicari with Battery on Dec. 10, 2018 in alleged sexual harassment incident in October 2018.

Lyons Police conducted an investigation and determined that Vicari had been the driver, identified after Police Investigators served a search warrant for information on the Lyft Company.

Once Vicari was identified as the driver, he voluntarily sat through an interview with officers on Friday, December 7, 2018. Vicari admitted touching the female’s legs, but blamed his actions on his personal circumstances explaining he had just been divorced and was troubled.

Lyons Police said the case will be heard at the Bridgeview court house in January 2019.

The arresting officers sought advice from the Cook County ASA in Felony Review about felony charges on this case, involving sexual harassment, but the Cook County State’s Attorney rejected the felony charges asserting they would only apply if the victim was under the age of 17. Vicari was only charged with Battery.

Although Vicari has no prior convictions, records show he has had several past sex-related arrests which were not prosecuted.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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