Two Utah men accused of raping woman who passed out, charges state

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WEST VALLEY CITY — Two men have been charged with raping an incoherent woman who had passed out from excessive drinking, according to charging documents.

Miguel Angel Covarrubias, 26, of Riverton, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with rape, object rape and forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies.

His charges come on the heels of Ruben Alejandro Olivas-Hernandez, 27, of West Valley City, being charged with rape and forcible sodomy, both first-degree felonies, on March 16.

On Feb. 16, about 4:30 a.m., a 23-year-old woman was driven to a friend’s apartment by Covarrubias and two other men, according to charging documents. The woman was already drunk when she arrived, the charges state.

While at the apartment, Covarrubias, Olivas-Hernandez and a third man continued to pour drinks for the woman “and kept encouraging her to drink more and more, to the point of (the woman) passing out,” according to the charges.

While she was “in and out of consciousness” on a couch, Covarrubias sexually assaulted her while Olivas-Hernandez appeared to record it on his cellphone, the charges state.

The three men then “talked a semiconscious (woman) into leaving with them to go ‘party’ at another location,” the charges state.

The men then went to Olivas-Hernandez’s apartment. Police were later able to obtain surveillance video from the apartment complex.

“All three suspects can clearly be seen ... removing (the woman) out of the back of the vehicle and carrying her through the parking lot. She is clearly limp and not conscious. At one point in the video, they set her down on the ground and she falls limp on the ground, never attempting to catch herself before hitting the cold, wet ground,” according to charging documents.

She is then carried into Olivas-Hernandez’s apartment.

When Covarrubias was initially interviewed by police, he claimed his sex with the woman was “consensual before she passed out,” the charges state. He then claimed the other two men engaged in sexual activity with her at the second apartment, when the woman “was so intoxicated that he believed this was not consensual sex.”

A $250,000 warrant was issued Tuesday Covarrubias’ arrest.

DNA test results from the State Crime Lab linked Olivas-Hernandez to the crime, according to charging documents. He is due back in court on May 4. An immigration hold was also placed on Olivas-Hernandez.

As of Tuesday, no charges had been filed against the third man.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/39wLvvr