Man Who Sexually Assaulted Uber Driver In Darien Guilty Of Kidnapping: Authorities

CHICAGO — A Chicago man was convicted this week of several counts after he kidnapped an Uber driver in Darien and sexually assaulted her, then kidnapped another woman just days later, according to authorities.

Andrew Anania, 29, was found guilty by a jury Monday of two counts of kidnapping, one count of carjacking and one count of using a gun in relation to a violent crime, authorities said. The verdicts followed a two-week trial in Chicago, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Anania kidnapped an Uber driver March 8, 2021, in Darien, showing her a gun and forcing her to drive to Chicago and park in alleys, where he sexually assaulted her before fleeing on foot, authorities said.

Two days later, on March 10, 2021, Anania and a 31-year-old Cicero man named Walter Moran kidnapped a woman on her way to work in Cicero, with Anania pointing a gun at her and driving himself, Moran and the victim to Chicago, where Moran exchanged gunfire with people on the street, according to the department. The men eventually released the victim and stole her car, authorities said. Moran pleaded guilty in 2024 to kidnapping and carjacking, and is set to be sentenced in March, according to the department.

Anania faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, authorities said, adding his sentencing is scheduled for May 13.

He pleaded guilty prior to trial to another kidnapping and carjacking, which occurred Feb. 27, 2021, in Chicago, according to the department. In that case, Anania got in a vehicle with the driver, claimed he had a gun and sexually assaulted her, authorities said, adding the woman escaped when the car was stopped at an intersection, and Anania fled in the vehicle and crashed it a short time later.

Anania committed all the offenses while awaiting trial on bond for a separate gun case, according to the department.