AMERICAN FORK — Two days after his 53-year-old wife was allegedly assaulted and robbed by three pregnant teenage girls, American Fork group home owner Spencer Moody said he's worried about his former tenants' safety.
"We appreciate everyone's concern, and right now we just hope the girls are OK," Moody said in an interview with KSL-TV on Thursday. "They need to be found and taken care of because they're not in the right condition to be running around and running from the police and hiding."
Moody and his wife, Jana, have owned and operated New Hope Maternity Home for struggling pregnant teens for three years. Over that period of time, they have helped about 20 girls, Moody said, and they have never had an incident like the one that reportedly happened earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Jana Moody walked into the dining/living room area of the house where three of their teenage tenants, two 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old, were doing their homework, according to American Fork Sgt. Shauna Greening.
One of the teenagers hit Moody's wife on the head with a frying pan, which stunned her but did not knock her unconscious, Greening said.
The three girls then allegedly jumped on her, tied her up with electrical chords, put a sock in her mouth and taped over it, according to Greening.
The girls allegedly tied up the only other person in the house, a 17-year-old girl, then stole the Moody's credit cards, checkbook, cell phone and video camera and left the house. The girls drove
away in the Moody's silver Dodge Caravan, with Utah license plate number 128 VTX.
After about 10 minutes, Jana Moody was able to escape from the electrical cords and "go up and untie the 17-year-old," Greening said. "Then they went to a neighbor's house to use the phone and call 911."
Jana Moody was not physically injured during the incident, but, emotionally, the ordeal has been discouraging, Spencer Moody said.
"It's just been a tough thing to go through," Moody told KSL-TV. "This is the first thing that has happened like this, and that makes it tough."
Greening would not say if the teenage girls have a criminal history, but girls who go to the home may be sent there by their parents to get away from problems with drugs or friends. Greening wasn't sure how far along each girl was in her pregnancy.
A warrant for the girls' arrest is being prepared, Greening said. The car's information has also been entered into the National Crime Information Center database, so the car can be traced nationwide.
If the girls are arrested, they could be charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, theft of a vehicle, criminal mischief and aggravated assault, Greening said.
According to Greening, the Moodys were not aware of any reason why the girls would carry out the assault. No previous confrontations between the girls or Moody's wife had taken place, Greening said.
Spencer Moody told the Salt Lake City TV station that he and his wife will be closing the maternity home. He said about 20 girls had successfully lived there and then left the home.
"We've had a lot of parents who call and just thank us for the help that they've got and the way things have turned out," Moody said. "We've had a lot of success doing this ... Automobiles and other things can be replaced, but (the girls) need to be safe and that's what we're hoping, that they'll be found quickly and taken care of."
Contributing: The Associated Press
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