Missionary Arrested for Rape in Utah County

[smac97]

LDS missionary serving in Utah County faces rape charge

Quote

A 19-year-old missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in Utah County was booked on a first-degree felony rape charge, according to court documents.

Police with the Saratoga Springs Police Department said they were called to a home near 700 West and Blue Mountain Drive on Saturday, May 11. The caller reportedly told police a neighbor had sexually assaulted her sister.

Officers reported finding Abraham Issac Cruz Hernandez standing in the driveway when they arrived.

Hernandez allegedly told the police he and the victim were alone together in the garage when the two started “making out,” before having sex. Hernandez reportedly refused to answer any further questions from police after being read his rights.

The victim, whose age and identity have not been disclosed, told police Hernandez had forcibly grabbed her and performed sexual acts without her consent.

Police took Hernandez into custody and booked him into Utah County Jail on the aforementioned first-degree felony rape charge as well as first-degree felony forcible sodomy and misdemeanor sexual battery.

According to court documents, Hernandez was in Utah County serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In a statement provided to ABC4, the Church said it is cooperating fully with law enforcement in their investigation.

“This individual was immediately removed from his volunteer missionary service as soon as the Church learned of these very serious and troubling allegations,” the statement read. “Missionaries are expected to abide by the highest standards and those who do not will be released and sent home, and in situations involving criminal allegations, also face loss of Church membership.”

More here:

Quote

A 19-year-old man was booked into jail Saturday morning after the alleged sexual assault of a woman in Saratoga Springs.

An affidavit for Abraham Isaac Cruz Hernandez says he is active as a missionary in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Court documents say Cruz Hernandez and the female were together alone in a garage setting when they began what the female later described as consensual kissing. After that, Hernandez began reaching under her clothing, and “the victim told Abraham to stop,” she told police, according to Cruz Hernandez’s affidavit.

The victim said Cruz Hernandez did not stop, and sexually assaulted her, she told Saratoga Springs Police officers. He then allegedly forced a second sexual act, and “The victim told Abraham again to stop,” the affidavit says.

The female told police Cruz Hernandez he did not stop, adding that “Shortly after their friends came in the garage and told them to stop.”

Approached by police, Hernandez allegedly told them that he and the female had consensual sex, the statement says. Post Miranda, Cruz Hernandez declined to speak further.

Cruz Hernandez was arrested for investigation of:

• Forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony
• Rape, a first-degree felony
• Sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor

Cruz Hernandez was ordered held without bail.

“Abraham is currently serving as a missionary for the LDS Church, he does not have any family, support system, or ties within Utah,” the affidavit says. “If released, he will likely return to his home state of California.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent the following statement to Gephardt Daily on Monday night after an initial inquiry submitted Saturday:

“This individual was immediately removed from his volunteer missionary service as soon as the Church learned of these very serious and troubling allegations,” the statement says. “The Church is cooperating fully with law enforcement in this investigation.

“Missionaries are expected to abide by the highest standards, and those who do not will be released and sent home, and in situations involving criminal allegations, also face loss of Church membership.”

Pretty troubling stuff.  If he is guilty, he deserves to be punished under the law.  The same goes if he is guilty of lesser offenses.  If he is not guilty of criminal offenses, he apparently still seriously violated missionary guidelines ("together alone in a garage setting when they began what the female later described as consensual kissing").  I wonder where his companion was.

Thanks,

-Smac

[bluebell]

Oh this is so sad on every level.  It makes my heart hurt so much.  If true, that young man has destroyed so much, both in his own life and in the lives of his loved ones.  And especially harmed that poor girl.

Where was his companion??!

[LoudmouthMormon]

Oof.  Doesn't look like the girl was a minor.  Doesn't say who called the cops, but I'm guessing either the girl or a parent.  Doesn't indicate how long from the alleged attack before the call.   Thinking about how hard it can be for a victim to come forward and speak out, it sounds possible that the girl immediately made noise about it.  If dude really did wrong, and if victim made an immediate stink about it, then I'm immensely happy for the victim.  It's rare for a victim to do that.  An awful lot of victims out there, not only bearing the weight of their assault, but also having to struggle with misplaced guilt and remorse 2nd guessing their reactions and choices after the assault.   Arrest and conviction rates go up when there's no waiting.  

- If dude pushed himself on her, shame on him.

- If the whole thing was consensual and she claimed foul later, shame on both of them.

- If she's making it all up, shame on her.

All 3 situations happen.  That 3rd situation happens too, but it's probably the most rare.

Edited May 14, 2024 by LoudmouthMormon

[blackstrap]

40 minutes ago, smac97 said:

she told police, according to Cruz Hernandez’s affidavit.

Please explain how this could be his affidavit and not hers. 

[ksfisher]

42 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Officers reported finding Abraham Issac Cruz Hernandez standing in the driveway when they arrived.

 

16 minutes ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Doesn't indicate how long from the alleged attack before the call.

Sounds like not too much time had elapsed.

[Damien the Leper]

This breaks my heart. 

[smac97]

1 hour ago, blackstrap said:

Quote

she told police, according to Cruz Hernandez’s affidavit.

Please explain how this could be his affidavit and not hers. 

Perhaps this is an error in reporting.  The "affidavit" is likely a "probable cause" affidavit executed by the police, not by Hernandez.

Thanks,

-Smac

[The Nehor]

Looking it up sodomy legally is a more broad term than the usual definition people think of. Most likely just means oral.

[Calm]

4 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

If she's making it all up, shame on her.

He at least admitted to making out, so she isn’t making up the whole thing.  There was some form of physical sexual contact, whether consensual or not or starting out to be consensual and then turning to sexual assault, hopefully the investigation will be able to accurately determine. 

I would go crazy under the companionship rules and think there should be some letting up there (maybe just allowing to study in separate rooms).  That rule was a deal breaker for me back in my youth and likely would be still if I suddenly got reincarnated as a 19 year old (and still was me).  I just couldn’t function under that rule. Living in a dorm with another person with no private space was hard enough. 
 

But in cases like these, the wisdom of the rule is obvious. 

Edited May 14, 2024 by Calm

[Calm]

4 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

That 3rd situation happens too, but it's probably the most rare.

Last time I checked false reports of assaults were no more than 8% and many studies had it down to 2%. 

Those making false reports are usually repeat offenders, often with outlandish claims (likely there is a mental disorder involved) or minors who actually see the relationship as consensual whether it was or not legally and has been pushed by a parent to make a report, but will not follow up on it because the parent thinks that is all that is needed.  So someone who has never reported an assault before who is not being pushed by a parent to make a report is quite rare. 

[LoudmouthMormon]

15 minutes ago, Calm said:

4 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

That 3rd situation happens too, but it's probably the most rare.

Last time I checked false reports of assaults were no more than 8% and many studies had it down to 2%. 

Those making false reports are usually repeat offenders, often with outlandish claims (likely there is a mental disorder involved) or minors who actually see the relationship as consensual whether it was or not legally and has been pushed by a parent to make a report, but will not follow up on it because the parent thinks that is all that is needed.  So someone who has never reported an assault before who is not being pushed by a parent to make a report is quite rare. 

Agreed, except for the point about minors. Statutory rape is a thing for a reason, and even if the minor child is totally in love and everything is consensual, it's still statutory rape, not a false report forced by a parent.  The notion is minors lack the developmental maturity necessary to consent.  It's a good notion, and even though there are valid arguments about where the line should be drawn, it's a notion worth preserving.

To put it in different words:  Somewhere between 2-8% of SV allegations are false, made by lying horrible awful people lying about being victims.  Out of every hundred allegations of SV, half a dozen of them are utterly false.  Applying the math to the data, out of the ~133,000 yearly allegations, several thousand of them are utter fabrications, totally false.    Most of the liars folks can easily spot, because the claims will be outlandish, or from the girl who always seems to cry rape so often it's just funny now.  But holy crap yes does it happen.  Thousands of times, every year. Thousands of mostly men are victimized this way, every year.   The majority of allegations are above board and believable.

 

Edited May 14, 2024 by LoudmouthMormon

[Pyreaux]

These consent issues sound confusing sometimes. Revoking consent midst stages. Not checking for consent at each stage. Her compliance mistaken for consent.

I'm sure they'll investigate her. I'm haunted from 25 years ago, in South Carolina, the Bishop's daughter and two friends played a game called, "Send the Missionary Home".

[MustardSeed]

5 hours ago, smac97 said:

told police Hernandez had forcibly grabbed her and performed sexual acts

 

12 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

Her compliance mistaken for consent.

These two don’t jive.  

Also, we don’t have enough info. The fact is he broke the rules of mission, he’s gone.  
The allegation is he forced her to go further after kissing. 

In my hay day even back in the 80s, I’d kiss, say “no more”, and the boys/men stopped.  Every time.   No one said, “meh, you were kissing so I’m confused”. 
 

 

 

[Calm]

1 hour ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Statutory rape is a thing for a reason, and even if the minor child is totally in love and everything is consensual, it's still statutory rape, not a false report forced by a parent.

True, I missed mentioning that point clearly because I was more focused on minors with minors (since those would be false reports if no force was involved) where it is legally consensual but a parent gets angry about it, so the child goes more they were forced when they weren’t or the parent won’t even let the kid say anything, but is insisting to the cops their kid was raped (I am channeling tv shows that may reflect reality at this point, too lazy to look up the descriptions in the studies that amounted to almost the same thing).

Edited May 14, 2024 by Calm

[Calm]

1 hour ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Somewhere between 2-8% of SV allegations are false, made by lying horrible awful people lying about being victims.

Not necessarily awful people, often they are messed up in some way, lonely or needing drama for reassurance or something else or young kids or young adults frightened of parents.  Truly malicious or manipulative reporting is quite rare, less than 2% from what I remembered. Not even sure there were enough such accounts to be accurately evaluated.  False accusations in child custody cases are quite rare iirc.

Edited May 14, 2024 by Calm

[Calm]

1 hour ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

  Thousands of times, every year. Thousands of mostly men are victimized this way, every year

What is really, really tragic and horrendous is there are so many actual assaults that the quite rare false, malicious claims that get taken seriously amount to thousands. 

While I feel bad for the men falsely accused and what happened to them is a tragedy and violation, I feel worse for the hundreds of thousands and more actual victims of sexual assault. 

Edited May 14, 2024 by Calm

[Calm]

40 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

I'm haunted from 25 years ago, in South Carolina, the Bishop's daughter and two friends played a game called, "Send the Missionary Home".

Is this firsthand knowledge ( you heard the girls admit it?) or was this a mission rumor?  Or something else?

Edited May 14, 2024 by Calm

[ZealouslyStriving]

Please, keep in mind that when someone is initially charged they load on all sorts of scary sounding charges. It puts the defendant in the position to be so fearful of being found guilty of all the charges and the years and years in prison that they are more likely to take a plea deal.

A detail I noticed is people walked in on them. I think it's possible she was ashamed of being inappropriate with an Elder, panicked and came up with a story to save face.

Either way, I hope the truth comes out, he is helped to repent and not treated like a leper, and she receives whatever counseling she may need.

Edited May 15, 2024 by ZealouslyStriving

[Pyreaux]

10 minutes ago, Calm said:

Is this firsthand knowledge ( you heard the girls admit it?) or was this a mission rumor?  Or something else?

Firsthand knowledge, I was maybe 14. They were young adults. They weren't exactly discreet. What I don't know is if they had any success in intentionally trying to get a missionary to do "something" inappropriate with them.

[Bernard Gui]

2 hours ago, Pyreaux said:

Firsthand knowledge, I was maybe 14. They were young adults. They weren't exactly discreet. What I don't know is if they had any success in intentionally trying to get a missionary to do "something" inappropriate with them.

University coeds in my son’s Colorado mission liked to answer the missionaries’ door knocks without upper garments. First hand experiences.

[bluebell]

29 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

University coeds in my son’s Colorado mission liked to answer the missionaries’ door knocks without upper garments. First hand experiences.

That happend in my mission as well in the late 90s in northern california.  Interestingly enough, one woman who used to do that got baptized and felt so bad about it later.

[Devobah]

11 hours ago, bluebell said:

Where was his companion??!

That’s what I’m wondering. From what I can find, there’s only a date, not a time of the events, (I’m under the assumption that the police were called right away and were there within half an hour or so) though I’ll search more. Abraham didn’t mention a companion with him, nor was there one mentioned in the news report, so it’s possible he snuck away early in the morning or late at night. It has been known to happen, and I don’t think it ever happened in my mission.

Whomever the companion is, I’d like to think they are just sick to their stomach right now and probably needing a lot of counseling, blessings and prayers. One of the hardest things to get over sometimes is someone’s choices when they happen around you. And if you’re an overthinker like me, you’re thinking of every which way, every moment from the time that you were together, just searching for something that you could have seen, done, or heard to possibly erase that. 

[Calm]

3 hours ago, bluebell said:

That happend in my mission as well in the late 90s in northern california.  Interestingly enough, one woman who used to do that got baptized and felt so bad about it later.

Probably should feel bad since it’s a form of sexual assault. It is not much different in action from a man exposing himself to women.  I am not disturbed by nudity, so given the context of it being their home and hopefully not done for sexual pleasure, that in and of itself I see as pretty harmless. The problem is the attitude that it is okay to force others to engage in sexual interaction without consent. It is too easy to shift from ‘such pranks’ to touching sexually without consent, etc. 

Edited May 15, 2024 by Calm

[gopher]

Unless the rules have changed, the companion will be sent home too.  It was his responsibility to keep an eye on his companion.  I'm glad the girl was brave enough to report it to the police, especially since she admitted there was consensual activity too.  It's a sad story.

[bluebell]

2 hours ago, gopher said:

Unless the rules have changed, the companion will be sent home too.  It was his responsibility to keep an eye on his companion.  I'm glad the girl was brave enough to report it to the police, especially since she admitted there was consensual activity too.  It's a sad story.

I've not heard of this rule, nor ever heard of it happening.