Man charged for years-long sexual abuse of granddaughter during 2000s, documents say

SANDY, Utah (ABC4) — A grandfather is facing charges after his granddaughter came forward about alleged sexual abuse that occurred over the span of eight years, beginning more than 20 years ago.

An 89-year-old Midvale man —whom ABC4 is not identifying to protect the identity of the victim — has been charged with three counts of rape of a child, three counts of sodomy upon a child, and three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all first-degree felonies.

According to court documents, a woman contacted the Sandy Police Department to report that she had been sexually abused by her grandfather, the 89-year-old, “every weekend from the age of 5 to 13 years old.”

The victim reported that between 2003 and 2011, her grandfather would undress her and sexually abuse her while at his house. She described several instances of the abuse, happening in different places on multiple occasions.

The 89-year-old allegedly forced his granddaughter to perform sexual acts on him and use an adult toy that he owned. She told police that a “typical day” with him involved rape and sexual abuse.

When the victim turned 13 years old, she told her grandfather to stop abusing her. She stated that she never told anyone what he had done because her grandfather “threatened to kill her, her mother, and the rest of her family if she said anything.”

As she got older, the victim confronted her grandfather about the sexual abuse. She alleged that he had apologized and said “he didn’t know why he abused her.” The 89-year-old told the victim that he didn’t “beat” her. She said that he raped her, and he responded that he “knows,” documents say.

During a police interview with the 89-year-old, he reportedly admitted to touching the victim inappropriately and sexually abusing her on one occasion.

The 89-year-old is not in custody, but is being issued a summons to appear in court.