FOUR MEN ARE currently in custody in Utah over the alleged rape of a nine-year-old girl.
The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office reported on Facebook that four men were currently being held in the Uintah County Jail over the alleged rape of child that occurred on 27 March (Easter Sunday).
The alleged incident occurred in the small city of Vernal in northeastern Utah.
The Sheriff’s office said that it was reported that the girl was with her mother as she visited friends at a home on Sunday.
Investigators said that as the child slept on the couch her mother went to the garage to smoke meth. As she did this, investigators said that the child was taken to another room and raped by the men.
Investigators conducted interviews and obtained a search warrant for the home where the incident is alleged to have occurred. One man involved in the case was detained during this search and was arrested on 29 March.
Three other men were subsequently arrested on 31 March and 1 April.
The men were all booked into jail on first degree felony charges of the rape of a child and sodomy on a child.
The Sheriff’s office said that the child was now safe and in the State’s custody.
The men charged are:
The New York Times reports that the men made their first appearance in district court yesterday and were held in custody pending bail hearings.
Update
In an update yesterday, the Sheriff’s office said that the interest and concern in the case was “overwhelming and unprecedented.”
“Occasionally there are incidents that we face that are shocking to the conscience, and this case has certainly been one of those for us all,” the office said.
It has not been our intent to “try the case” in the media or fuel hateful speech or actions. We have a great team of investigators, prosecutors, social workers, medical professionals and other resources who have worked together for many years.
There has been a huge reaction on social media to the the case, with the Sheriff’s office’s Facebook post receiving 1,987 shares and over 2,500 comments.
Comments have been disabled as the case has appeared before the courts.
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