LOS ANGELES, CA – An Uber driver from Bakersfield pleaded guilty to kidnapping to commit rape after he drove an intoxicated, sleeping passenger around Camarillo and sexually assaulted her, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Simranjit Singh Sekhon entered the plea Nov. 6 and admitted the aggravating factor of taking advantage of a position of trust, the district attorney’s office said in a news release published Nov. 10. The offense dates to around 1 a.m. Nov. 27, 2025.
Sekhon remains out of custody while he awaits sentencing, and he faces a term of seven years to life in state prison.
Plea includes position-of-trust admission
Sekhon pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping to commit rape, according to the district attorney’s office. As part of the plea, he formally admitted that he took advantage of a position of trust.
The aggravating factor is part of the plea itself, so it is an admission by Sekhon and not only an allegation by prosecutors.
Ride began outside Thousand Oaks bar
Prosecutors said Sekhon, working as an Uber driver, picked up the passenger outside a bar in Thousand Oaks around 1 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2025. She was intoxicated, and he was to take her to her home in Camarillo.
Authorities said the woman fell asleep during the trip. Rather than dropping her off at her home, Sekhon continued driving her around Camarillo while she was unconscious and sexually assaulted her, according to the district attorney’s office.
Authorities have not publicly identified the passenger.
Sheriff’s detectives arrested him in Los Angeles County
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Detectives from its Major Crimes Sexual Assault Unit and Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit arrested Sekhon in Los Angeles County on Dec. 15, 2025, about three weeks after the incident.
The district attorney’s office announced the charges in a December 2025 charging announcement. Sekhon was arraigned Dec. 19, 2025, and pleaded not guilty at that hearing.
Bail was set at $500,000, according to the district attorney’s office.
Court held him to answer in April
On April 15, 2026, the court heard testimony from the victim and the investigating detective, according to a district attorney’s news release issued that month. The court found sufficient evidence on both counts, rape of an unconscious person and kidnapping to commit rape, and on the aggravating factors.
That ruling, known as being held to answer, allowed the case to move forward. The guilty plea announced this week came about seven months later.
Prosecutor calls conduct predatory
Senior Deputy District Attorney Twyla Atmore is prosecuting the case for the office’s Sexual Assault Unit. She focused on the trust the passenger placed in the driver.
“The victim made a responsible decision and placed her trust in the defendant to return her safely to her home,” Atmore said. “The defendant exploited the victim’s vulnerable condition by sexually assaulting her. His conduct was predatory and deserving of the sentence he will receive.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 9
Sekhon is set to be sentenced Dec. 9. The sentence range for kidnapping to commit rape, with the aggravating factor he admitted, is seven years to life in state prison.
He has remained out of custody in the weeks leading up to the hearing, according to the district attorney’s office. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
For now, the case stands at the plea stage: Sekhon has pleaded guilty and admitted the position-of-trust factor, and the court has not yet imposed a sentence.
