Charge says co-owner of Lyn-Lake restaurant raped underage bartender after work

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.

Christian Quito, 45, of Minneapolis, was charged Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with an assault Sept. 8 in his car after the bartender’s shift at Los Andes Latin Bistro.

An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Quito, and he was booked into jail Thursday afternoon. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

According to the criminal complaint:

Police met with the teenager at a hospital the day of the assault. She told them she finished her shift around 2:30 a.m. and Quito said he needed to speak with her. She said she got into his vehicle and he started touching her and refused to let her out.

The teen said she told Quito to stop touching her. 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.

DNA collected during an examination at the hospital was a match to Quito, charges say.

City licensing documents list Quito as 50% owner and the manager of Los Andes.

State law requires bartenders to be at least 18 years old to serve alcohol.