The co-owner and manager of a W. Lake Street bar and restaurant in Minneapolis has been charged with raping a 16-year-old girl who bartended for him.
Charge says co-owner of Lyn-Lake restaurant raped underage bartender after work
A warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 16, 2025 at 4:42PM
Christian Quito, 45, of Minneapolis, was charged Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with an assault on Sept. 8 in his car after her shift at the Los Andes Latin Bistro.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Messages were left Thursday with Quito seeking a response to the allegations.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police met with the teenager at a hospital that day and told them that she finished her shift around 2:30 a.m. and Quito said he needed to speak with her. She said she got in his vehicle, and he started touching her and refused to let her get out.
While telling Quito to stop touching her, the teen told police, he pulled her hair and forced her to get in the back seat. Once there, she said, he overpowered and raped her.
She said Quito acknowledged that what he did was wrong and said they had to keep the assault a secret. She said he also tried to intimidate her by saying he had been arrested for killing 20 people. He then took her back to her vehicle and left.
An examination at the hospital revealed that DNA collected was a match to Quito.
City licensing documents list Quito as 50% owner of Los Andes and its manager.
State law requires bartenders to be at least 18 years old to serve alcohol.
The commission chair also wants to look at having some council members elected from a wider area, with some at-large members.
