Felony criminal charges were filed Thursday against an elderly Salt Lake man accusing him of forcing his new bride — whom he brought to the United States from Iran — to participate against her will in disturbing sexual fetishes.
“She was not a wife but a sex slave,” prosecutors said in court documents.
The 77-year-old man is charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony. A no bail warrant was issued Thursday for his arrest. The Deseret News has chosen not to name him at this time in order to protect the identity of the victim.
The man met the woman online about four years ago when she lived in Iran. In July, he went to Iran to bring the woman to the U.S. They were married in Wendover and settled in Utah, according to charging documents and a motion to hold him in jail without bail.
“Even though (he) was 48 years older than (the woman), she thought that (he) was a very nice and understanding person,” the motion states.
Before and during their marriage, the woman explained to him that “she did not want to have sexual encounters with him” because of some physical difficulty and pain, but he forced her to engage in sex anyway, according to the charges.
“Since the beginning of the marriage, (he) forced the victim to do his sexual bidding. He knew that she did not have any family and would have no one to turn to when he committed the acts that he did,” court records state.
The man “would give her alcohol in order to make her more accepting,” the charges state, and made her “engage in what can only be described as abhorrent sexual conduct.”
He made the woman eat feces and vomit, and admitted to police to being excited by it as well as when she cried, according to the charging documents.
If the woman would not comply with his demands, he would either hit her, threaten to send her back to Iran, or “show her video clips or documentaries about girls who had left their house and ... (became) prostitutes and slept on the streets,” the charges state.
The woman said she would “eventually comply” because “she did not want him to get angry and hurt her more,” according to court documents. “She was so frightened that she did as she was told to avoid further physical abuse. (He) had complete control of the victim.”
Prosecutors say the Salt Lake man has ties to Iran and Turkey and fear if he were to flee to one of those countries that extradition may not be possible, the motion for no bail states.
The man filed for divorce from the woman last month. She filed for a protective order against him on Thursday.
Anyone who is a victim of domestic violence or knows of a victim in Salt Lake City is encouraged to call police at 801-799-3000 and ask to speak with a victim advocate or call a 24-hour hotline at 801-580-7969.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 or the Utah LINKLine at 1-800-897-5465 for confidential assistance.