Utah man charged with 19 felonies after alleged ‘relationship’ with 15-year-old

WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) — A 33-year-old man has been charged with 19 felonies after allegedly engaging in a “relationship” with a 15-year-old relative.

ABC4 is not identifying the man in order to protect the victim in this case. Allegedly, during this “relationship,” the man physically assaulted the victim multiple times and repeatedly threatened suicide to stop her from breaking up with him.

The 33-year-old man was charged with 19 felonies: one count of aggravated child abuse (intentional or knowing), ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of kidnapping, and six counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, which are all felonies.

He was also charged with four misdemeanors: sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of child abuse, and unlawful kissing of a minor.

The man is currently being held in jail on a no bail warrant. He has an initial court appearance scheduled towards the beginning of November.

Details from court documents

According to charging documents, the man is a relative of the victim’s stepmother. The victim told police that she had “been in a relationship” with the man for around two months. She reported that he took her and her stepbrother on a trip to Las Vegas, and she “fell in love” with him during that trip.

The victim also told police that he bought her a phone, but her parents were concerned about their interactions, so she gave it back. She also said that her parents told her to stop communicating with him, so she didn’t talk to him for about a month.

They started talking again in August, and, allegedly, that’s when they began to “hang out” alone. During those hangouts, they would kiss and engage in sexual activity.

Reportedly, the man lives mainly in his car, and he owns multiple firearms. The victim told police that she tried to end the relationship at least once, but reportedly, the suspect became upset and tried to kill himself, and she “couldn’t let him do that.”

The victim reported two separate incidents where they got into an argument, and the man allegedly refused to let her leave. In one incident, she got out of the car and ran, and he body slammed her to the ground. He then held her on the ground for around five minutes, and the victim said she was face down in the grass and unable to breathe. Reportedly, he told her that she wasn’t going to scream or run, and she believed he was going to kill her.

In another incident, she got out of the car after an argument, and he allegedly threw a rock at her, grabbed her by the collar, and threw her on the ground. She reported that he continued to throw her on the ground, and he pushed her up against a concrete barrier, holding her neck with both hands. Again, he told her that she would not scream or run, and afterwards, he still refused to take her home.

Around October 15, the man allegedly showed up to the victim’s school while she was talking to a friend. She tried to break up with him, but he refused to let her leave. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at his head, telling her he would kill himself in front of her. The victim said she wrestled the gun away from him and talked him into taking her to a friend’s house.

Later that same night, he picked her up from her friend’s house and took her to a park, where he allegedly began to cut himself on his arms, legs, and neck. He told her he would cut himself and kill himself if she wouldn’t be with him. The victim said that he used this tactic to make sure they would see each other every day, threatening to kill himself if she didn’t.

The victim told police that they had sex multiple times, and the last time was on the day her parents caught the man taking her to school.

According to police, during an interview, the man admitted to some of the accusations and denied others. Mainly, he denied having a “relationship” with the victim and initially denied having sex with her, but when police told him she reported they had sex, he allegedly admitted to it. He also denied tackling or body slamming her.

Police also reportedly discovered over 30 nude images of the victim on the man’s phone.