SALT LAKE CITY — A former Salt Lake club owner already charged with sexually abusing female co-workers now faces a charge of rape.
A warrant was issued for his arrest of Jorge Bizarro-Medina, 38, of Salt Lake City, and he made his initial appearance in court Thursday. He was charged in July in 3rd District Court with rape, a first-degree felony.
Bizarro met a 19-year-old woman outside of his bar in March and invited her in for food. He then offered the woman alcohol even though she was only 19, according to charging documents.
The woman said she doesn’t remember much of what happened next.
“(Her) next clear memory is waking up next to Bizarro at about 4 a.m. at a hotel in Salt Lake County,” the charges state. “Bizarro texted (her) the next morning and advised her to use day-after contraceptive.”
Police reviewed video surveillance from the hotel and found images of Bizarro and the woman arriving about 1 a.m. The woman was “swaying and using a counter for balance,” according to the charges. At 3:15 a.m., the video recorded the woman “trying to get away from Bizarro” and Bizarro trying to pull her back into an elevator.
Detectives said the woman had a “significant” blood alcohol level when she was tested, even hours after her last drink. Police say in charging documents that the surveillance video and toxicology results “show the the victim was too impaired to consent” to sex.
The incident happened while Bizarro was out on bail on charges accusing him of sexually abusing female workers at his bar. The charges were filed in 2018 based on a 2014 incident. As of Friday, that case was still ongoing. The 2018 charges were based on when Bizarro was the owner of the Moose Lounge, 180 W. 400 South. Bizarro no longer owns the bar which has since changed its name and is under new ownership.
Prosecutors have requested Bizarro now be held without bail.