Carlos Omar Pichinte was sentenced to 29 years to life in state prison. (photo courtesy of the BHPD)

A defendant who sexually assaulted four women after posing as a driver for ride-hailing services and picking them up in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood has been sentenced to 29 years to life in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Karen Montoya said Carlos Omar Pichinte, 43, of Los Angeles, pleaded no contest on Sept. 17 to two counts of assault with intent to commit a sexual assault and one count of forcible rape.

The sexual assaults occurred in October 2016 and March, April and May of 2017. Pichinte picked up his victims in a car with ride-hailing company decals and drove them to undisclosed locations where he sexually assaulted them, the prosecutor said.

Pichinte has been in custody since being arrested on May 20, 2017, in West Hollywood. Authorities cautioned people to be aware of whose vehicle they are getting into and to check with ride-hailing companies to verify the person picking them up is the driver they summoned.

The case was investigated by the Beverly Hills Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.