Booking photo for Brendan J. Snider (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — An 18-year-old Paradise man is being bound over for trial on charges of raping a teenage girl during a camping trip last summer. Brendan J. Snider was arrested in November, booked into the Cache County Jail, and later released on pretrial supervision.
Snider participated in a virtual preliminary hearing in 1st District Court Monday afternoon, appearing by web conference. He was previously charged with rape, a first-degree felony.
During the hearing, prosecutors presented their evidence, collected by law enforcement after the rape was reported in October. The alleged victim told deputies how she had been camping with friends, including Snider, in Left Hand Fork Canyon at the time. The group had been drinking earlier in the evening.
Cache County sheriff’s detective Douglas Thorson testified about his interview with the alleged victim. The 15-year-old described how during the camping trip, she had gotten up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. As she walked away from the campsite, Snider followed her. He pushed her up against a tree and raped her, while she resisted and told him “no” repeatedly.
Thorson also told the court about his interview with Snider as the investigation continued. The suspect admitted that he had been camping with the alleged victim and acknowledged to drinking and becoming intoxicated. However, he denied raping the girl, claiming it was consensual.
Snider spoke only briefly during the hearing. He entered a plea of “not guilty” to the charge.
Public defender Joseph Saxton didn’t present any evidence. He said they had concerns with some of the victim’s testimony but would raise those issues at the time of trial.
Snider was ordered to appear again in court March 1. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.
will@cvradio.com