Unlicensed Bronx cab driver sentenced for rape in Mount Vernon

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- A Bronx man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for sex crimes committed while he was an unlicensed cab driver.

On April 29, 2012 in the early morning, Jonathan Wallace, 34, picked up a woman near East 241st Street in the Bronx, according to the Westchester County District Attorney.

Instead of taking the victim to her residence, he drove to Mount Vernon and stopped the car. The defendant then demanded money from the victim, claimed she was a prostitute, and began to slap and sexually assault her.

The victim fled and was treated at Mount Vernon Hospital.

Wallace was linked to the crime through his DNA. He was arrested by the New York City Police on an unrelated gun charge, then Mount Vernon detectives questioned Wallace. They arrested him for rape and related sex offenses.

He would found guilty in October 2013 of first-degree attempted criminal sexual act, rape in the third degree and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 20 years probation.