Gavel. Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
LOGAN — A 25-year-old man is being bound over for trial on charges of allegedly raping a woman in June. Brayan Alberto Cruz-Carrillo has been in the Cache County Jail since being arrested in July.
Cruz-Carrillo was in 1st District Court Monday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. He was charged previously with rape and forcible sodomy, both first-degree felonies; and a second count of forcible sodomy, a second-degree felony.
Prosecutors explained how the alleged victim claimed that Cruz raped her at her home in June. The woman told police she had met the suspect on SnapChat and later agreed to meet him in person.
The woman said Cruz allegedly raped her in her bedroom after he came over to her home. She had told him “no” repeatedly and tried to fight him off.
The alleged victim said, Cruz told her several times after the assault not to tell anybody. She later contacted CAPSA and went to the Cache Valley Hospital for treatment.
During the two day hearing that began Oct. 18 and concluded Monday afternoon, the lead investigator presented a written statement from the alleged victim, describing in detail the assault. In it, the woman wrote that even though she and the defendant had joked about having sex, she told him several times she was not interested.
Defense attorney Wayne Caldwell questioned some of prosecutor’s evidence, pointing out that they didn’t have the correct Snapchat usernames, to show the chat logs between the two people. He also claimed there were some inconsistencies in the victim’s statement to law enforcement.
Despite the questions raised by Caldwell, Judge Brandon Maynard ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to bind Cruz-Carrillo over on all charges. He immediately scheduled a two-day jury trial for Dec. 16-17.
Cruz was ordered to appear again in court Nov. 29 for a final pre-trial conference, as Caldwell entered pleas of “not guilty” to each of the charges.
Cruz is being held in jail without bail after a judge previously determined he posed a threat to the alleged victim and was a flight risk if he were released. He didn’t speak during the preliminary hearing and could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
will@cvradio.com