A truck driver accused of committing a series of sexual assaults has been convicted and sentenced to 15 more years in prison.
The series of assaults occurred in 2015 and 2016 in the San Francisco, California Bay Area, and Washington.
Following an agreement with prosecutors, 35-year-old Anmol Prasad pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with intent to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy or oral copulation, and one count of forced sexual assault.
According to CBS San Francisco, one of Prasad’s earliest crimes was committed on October 14th, 2015, when he picked up a 19-year-old prostitute for a “date.” The victim says she initially agreed to the exchange, and Prasad drove the two of them to a bank in Castro Valley, California. Prasad then exited the big rig to use the ATM and handed the victim $300 when he returned. However, he promptly pulled out a knife and held it to the victim’s throat.
The victim then held up her left hand to protect herself but was cut, causing a laceration that later required four stitches. Prasad then robbed the victim of the $300 he had given her, along with $40 of her own money, and drive away, leaving her injured in the bank parking lot. Footage from the ATM machine confirmed the victim’s story.
Then on October 25th, 2015, another 19-year-old female made contact with Prasad at a gas station in Oakland, California. Prasad then offered the woman a ride to Castro Valley, and she accepted, but instead of driving her there, Prasad drove down a dead-end street in Oakland and pulled out a knife, holding it to the victim’s neck and demanding she perform sexual acts on him.
The victim complied, but Prasad still did not let her go and instead began driving to Richmond. During that time, police received a call from a citizen who had witnessed the victim being forcibly held in the truck. The witness was able to provide a license plate number and officers were able to locate him as he pulled into a gas station.
Once the rig stopped, the victim jumped from the cab screaming that Prasad had a knife. Officers then searched the vehicle and discovered a 6 inch folding knife behind the driver’s seat. Prasad was then arrested and booked for kidnapping, forced sex acts and brandishing a knife. However, despite the charges, the Alameda County District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute the case.
Then, on May 2nd, 2016, Prasad got in contact with a 20-year-old female through an ad for prostitution on the internet. The two then arranged to meet in front of a gas station located in the 39900 block of Farwell Drive in Fremont via text message.
The two met up and began negotiating the deal, during which the victim says Prasad suddenly became angry and physically stopped the victim from leaving the cab of the truck, even grabbing a tire iron and hitting the victim in the head. The victim was able to scream for help and Prasad stopped the attack, but locked all the doors and quickly grabbed for the victim’s purse. The two struggled over the purse, but Prasad suddenly started the rig and began driving and the victim attempted to exit the truck via the side door.
Believing she was being kidnapped, the victim jumped from the truck at 40 mph, suffering injuries to her feet, knees, hands, hips, chest and torso. She was then treated at a medical trauma center and reported the incident.
Detectives were able to obtain surveillance footage from the area that showed the suspected truck driver just prior to the attack, which was sent to other agencies for identification. An officer from the Oakland Police Department was able to identify the driver and connect him to a previous, related case.
On May 5th, 2016, detectives surveilled Prasad’s address in the 16100 block of Adobe Way in Lathrop and conducted a search of his rig, where they found a black tire iron and paperwork belonging to the Fremont female victim, whose purse had been left in the cab.
When interviewed, Prasad’s wife told detectives he was a long-haul truck driver who worked “all over the country”.
During his own interview, Prasad denied being in the area on the date of the Fremont incident and denied ever seeing the female victim. He then stated that he ‘couldn’t remember the last time a female was in his vehicle,’ and that he had been married to his wife since 2013 and had ‘never had sex with another woman other than his wife since that time.’
Despite Prasad’s denial, officers booked him into jail and notified him of an additional felony warrant issued for an alleged rape in Washington State, to which Prasad replied “I’ve never even been to Washington.”
Prasad was then booked into the Fremont jail for kidnapping for the purposes of sexual assault, assault with intent to commit sexual assault, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, committing a felony offence while on bail, and even for the outstanding Washington felony rape warrant.
Once in custody, Prasad complained of chest pain and was transported to a hospital for a medical evaluation. During that hospital visit, Prasad claimed that he needed to use the restroom and attacked a police officer as he was being escorted there, punching him multiple times.
Prasad then turned to a detention officer standing nearby and struck her. The police officer then jumped back into action and the two crashed into a nurse’s desk, where Prasad grabbed a pen and attempted to stab the officer with it.
Hospital staff then rushed in to help but even the officer’s taser was ineffective against Prasad. After more struggle, Prasad finally submitted to the officer, but not before both sustained injuries in the altercation.
Prasad spent the last four years in prison for his Washington rape felony as he awaited further conviction, and is now expected to serve 15 more years in prison for his Bay Area crimes. Investigators also say they believe there may be additional victims who have not come forward.