Young boy assaulted by stranger in Utah locker room, police say

LEHI, Utah (KSL.com) — Police say a 5-year-old boy who was sexually assaulted in the restroom of a recreation center by a stranger had to escape by crawling under the stall door and running to his mother.
On Wednesday, Jonathan Jareth Soberanis, 26, of Lehi, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of sexual abuse of a child, lewdness involving a child, unlawful detention of a minor, voyeurism against a child under the age of 14, assault against police, trespassing and resisting arrest.
The incident happened Tuesday when a 5-year-old boy went unaccompanied into a locker room of the Lehi Legacy Center, 123 N. Center Street, according to police. While the child was using the bathroom, an unknown man entered his stall, a police affidavit states, and the man exposed himself to the boy.
“The child stated he tried to leave the bathroom stall, but the male held him by his shoulders. The child stated he had to crawl under the stall to escape and he then ran out of the locker room to summon his mom for help. The child stated he was trying to hide from the suspect and he immediately told his mother about the incident,” according to the affidavit.
Police reviewed security video and saw a man matching the description of the person who assaulted the boy walk in the locker room about the same time the boy was there, and then “is also seen running out of the locker room at the same time the child victim left the locker room,” the affidavit states.
Investigators identified the man as Soberanis and learned that he had already been permanently banned from the recreation center for committing a lewd act in 2015 and had previously been charged with lewdness involving a child.
Detectives found Soberanis at his home on Wednesday and questioned him. He claimed he was the rec center working out, but “when Jonathan was confronted with the fact he wasn’t seen exercising and he was seen running from the locker room at the time the incident occurred, Jonathan claimed he … couldn’t remember what he did in the locker room and claimed he has a disability that prevents him from recollecting his actions,” police wrote in the affidavit.
After talking to Soberanis for about 30 minutes, officers attempted to arrest him but he resisted and “began to kick and throw himself around, causing officers to sustain minor injuries,” the affidavit says.
According to court records, Soberanis was charged in 2018 and 2019 in separate cases of lewdness involving a child, but both cases were later dismissed after it was determined that he was not competent to stand trial.
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Source: eastidahonews.com