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WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley man was charged Tuesday with kidnapping and sexually assaulting his 14-year-old neighbor.
The girl told police she heard a noise at her door on June 23 and went outside to investigate. There, she discovered her neighbor, Antonio Jose Perez, 28. She tried to go back inside her apartment when Perez grabbed her, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court.
Perez tried to take the teen to his nearby apartment and groped and sexually assaulted her as she tried to break free from him, the charges state.
At one point, she was able to break free and ran to her apartment, but Perez pushed the door open and immediately pulled her back outside, the charges state. The girl was able to break free once again and look for help.
After the girl told her mother what happened, the woman found Perez at his apartment and held him while others called police. After learning that the police were coming, Perez struggled to get away and hit the mother in the head, according to the charges.
Police say another woman who saw the altercation and tried to separate Perez and the mother was also struck by Perez in the face.
When police arrived, Perez ran away but was soon caught.
Perez was charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; object rape, a first-degree felony; forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; burglary, a second-degree felony; fail to stop at command of law officer, a class A misdemeanor; and two counts of assault, a class B misdemeanor.
According to the Salt Lake Metro Jail website, Perez is a citizen of Mexico.
