5-year-old-boy escapes sexual assault by crawling under bathroom stall, Utah cops say
A 5-year-old boy escaped a Utah man sexually assaulting him by crawling underneath a bathroom stall, according to police.
Jonathan Jareth Soberanis, 26, was arrested Wednesday for criminal trespass with sexual abuse of a child, intent to commit a crime, suspicion of lewdness involving a child, unlawful detention of a minor, voyeurism with a child, among other charges, according to the Lehi City Police Department, KUTV reported.
Police said the boy told them Soberanis came into the bathroom and exposed himself when the child was in the stall, according to the station.
The child told police that when he tried to leave, Soberanis grabbed him and wouldn’t let him leave, FOX 13 reported. The boy said he crawled underneath the stall to escape and go to his mother for help.
Video footage showed Soberanis entering the locker room of the recreation center when the child was inside and Soberanis’ clothes matched the description given by the boy to police, authorities said, according to the station.
Police said they identified the man as Soberanis, who had been permanently banned from Lehi Legacy Center after reportedly “committing a lewd act in 2015” and was “charged with lewdness involving a child,” KSL reported.
Soberanis told police he was working out at the rec center but when “confronted with the fact he wasn’t seen exercising and he was seen running from the locker room at the same time the incident occurred,” he said he “couldn’t remember what he did in the locker room and claimed he has a disability that prevents him from recollecting his actions,” the station reported, citing the police affidavit.
Police said they tried to arrest Soberanis after talking with him for 30 minutes but he “began to kick and throw himself around, causing officers to sustain minor injuries,” according to the station.
Soberanis also allegedly threw a glass table at police before he was pinned down and arrested, police said, according to FOX 13.
