Honduran man allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted 17-year-old, charges say

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC4) — A Honduran man is facing felony charges after allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old. Another man participated in the assault, but left the state before law enforcement located him.

Carlos Daniel Espinoza Sanchez, 26, has been charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping and four counts of aggravated sexual assault, all first-degree felonies.

According to court documents, on July 27, 2025, a gas station employee contacted the South Salt Lake Police Department to report that a 17-year-old had been sexually assaulted. The teen told officers that she was leaving a party and approached a group of people outside when she discovered that her phone was dead.

Two members of the group, Espinoza Sanchez and another man who has not been arrested yet, offered to drive the teenage victim to a gas station so she could buy a phone charger. The victim got into the backseat of the car. Espinoza Sanchez got into the driver’s seat, and the other man sat next to her in the back.

The victim noticed that Espinoza Sanchez took the vehicle onto the highway and questioned the two about whether they were going to the gas station. They replied that they were taking her to “the house.” The man in the backseat with her “grabbed her, made her lie down, and began touching her,” documents say.

Espinoza Sanchez also allegedly began to reach back to touch the victim while he was driving, and she reported to police that she attempted to push the two men away and repeatedly told them “no.” The victim said she was “begging them to go to the gas station” and asking them to pull over.

The two men continued to sexually assault the teenager, and the victim described that Espinoza Sanchez was touching her inappropriately while the other man tried to rape her. Espinoza Sanchez pulled over at a gas station, and the victim said that they parked “way in the back.”

While at the gas station, the victim was able to escape while the man in the backseat grabbed her and tried to pull her back in. She was able to push him off of her and run to the gas station, partially dressed and missing a sandal, according to documents. A gas station employee stopped the man from chasing her, and another employee called the police.

The victim was transported to the hospital, and doctors observed that she had bruises on her arms. The 17-year-old reported what happened during the sexual assault to medical staff, and mentioned that Espinoza Sanchez had participated.

The South Salt Lake Police Department reviewed surveillance footage and saw the victim walking into the gas station, pursued by a man. They also saw the vehicle that the two men had used to kidnap the 17-year-old girl. Using that information, they were able to track the license plate number of the vehicle.

On Aug. 4, officers took Espinoza Sanchez into custody, and he allegedly admitted to being at the party with the other man and the victim. Espinoza Sanchez stated that they were driving her to the gas station, and if the other man had touched her, he didn’t know because he was driving. He went on to claim that “she voluntarily got in the car” so it couldn’t be rape.

Espinoza Sanchez was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, where he is currently being held without bail. According to documents, he reported that the other man had moved out of the state. Law enforcement intends to file charges against the other man when he is identified.