Salt Lake County sheriff's detectives have arrested a Kearns man being investigated in connection with a series of kidnappings of young girls in that community.
The 34-year-old man was arrested by sex crimes detective Rex Nelson last week and booked into jail on an outstanding warrant on an unrelated offense.The man has not been charged with any of the sex crimes. However, the residence where he had been staying has been searched by detectives, who recovered clothing belonging to the suspect. Those fibers and fibers recovered during the investigation of one of the abductions have been sent to the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Va., for comparison.
The results are not expected for several weeks, said sex crimes Sgt. Dick Carlson. The Salt Lake County attorney's office, which has already reviewed the available evidence, will wait until the FBI results are back before making a decision.
The man, who faces four counts of unemployment compensation fraud next month in 3rd Circuit Court, is being investigated specifically in connection with the Oct. 4 kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl. The girl was asleep in her home, in the area of 4100 West and 5000 South, about 5:15 a.m. when an intruder entered her bedroom and flashed a light in her room, according to an affidavit filed in 3rd Circuit Court with a search warrant.
The attacker "placed his hand on her mouth and said they were going for a walk," the document states.
Outside the home, he molested the girl, who broke free and ran to a neighbor's house.
Investigators recovered foreign fibers from beneath her fingernails and from the railing in the neighbors house.
During their routine investigation, detectives were given the suspect's name. When they showed the victim his photograph in a group of photos of other people, she identified him as the attacker, according to the affidavit.
The suspect's physical description is similar to the description the victim gave to police following the crime, according to the affidavit. "The height and weight match very closely," the document states.
The Oct. 4 attack was within a mile of two similar incidents that occurred on July 9 and Sept. 19.
The Kearns attacks are also similar to two cases in Salt Lake City and one in West Valley City in which young girls were abducted from their home and sexually assaulted in May and June. Police in those jurisdictions have identified a different suspect, however. No charges have been filed.