Prosecutors have charged a man with unlawful sexual contact for allegedly assaulting Democratic state Rep. Jenny Willford in a Lyft he was driving last year.
On Tuesday the District Attorney’s office for the 17th Judicial District in Adams and Broomfield counties announced the felony charge against Mukhammadali Mukadyrov, 42.
According to District Attorney Brian Mason’s office, Mukadyrov was acting as a rideshare driver while using the vehicle and account of another individual at the time of the alleged offense.
It was not immediately clear if Mukadyrov has an attorney.
Willford and her attorney Morgan Carroll told CPR News they are not commenting on the ongoing criminal matter.
Willford first told her story of the alleged sexual assault publicly earlier this year. She said that after going out with friends, she ordered a Lyft to get back home to Northglenn in February of 2024 and was attacked in front of her house as she tried to leave the back seat of the vehicle.
“I don't know how to put into words how excruciating it was to be so close to home, so close to my husband and our two kids, and so close to safety while being assaulted in view of my house,” she said at a press conference in January.
She said something was off from the start of the ride when her driver started asking personal questions, like if she was married.
“Then it quickly escalated to inappropriate comments about what he wanted to do to me and how he felt that my husband wouldn't mind if we had sex. He clearly had a plan for how he wanted his night to turn out,” she said.
Afterward she learned that the man who picked her up that night was not the authorized driver listed on the app, but was instead using someone else’s account. Willford is suing Lyft to demand it change its policies to make such account fraud more difficult.
She also sponsored a bill aimed at creating new safety requirements for rideshare companies. That measure is on Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. Uber has threatened to leave the state if it becomes law and Lyft said the bill has fundamental flaws and doesn’t take into account long term consequences for drivers and passengers.
“There are better ways to improve safety in Colorado, and we remain committed to working toward a more productive solution," Lyft told CPR News.
In a statement to CPR News when Willford’s lawsuit was filed last January, a spokesperson from Lyft said, “Safety is fundamental" for the company.
"The behavior described in this incident has no place in our society. We take reports of sexual assault very seriously, and when incidents such as these are reported to us, our trained team takes immediate action to investigate and works with local law enforcement so that appropriate actions can be taken," the statement said. "In addition, our Terms of Service strictly prohibit the impersonation of another person or entity, and such behavior can and does lead to a permanent ban from the platform.”
Willford’s case also helped bring attention at the statehouse to Colorado’s year-and-a-half long testing backlog for sexual assault DNA evidence. She reported the assault to Northglenn police shortly after it happened and submitted DNA evidence but had to wait more than a year for the testing to be completed.
“It was really difficult to wait as long as I did and to feel like that result was hanging over me and that I didn't know if there would be DNA evidence or not,” she said.
If convicted of the class 4 felony, Mukadyrov could face a sentence of two to six years in prison, and/or fines ranging from $2,000 to $500,000. There is also a 3-year mandatory parole period.
