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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In a rare move, the state attorney general charged a 19-year-old man with sexual assault after Salt Lake County prosecutors declined to take the case, citing a lack of evidence.
Daniel Burton, a spokesman for state Attorney General Sean Reyes, said in a statement that the office will occasionally take cases that have been denied by other agencies for various reasons, including new information or more resources.
Burton declined to comment specifically on the sexual assault case because it was ongoing.
The district attorney's office said in a December letter to Cottonwood Heights police that there also could be problems with the case because the man accused of attacking an 18-year-old woman claimed to be too drunk to know what he was doing, the Deseret News reported Friday (http://bit.ly/296lxiW ).
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said he was troubled after learning about the contents of the letter and ordered his office to review the case twice more.
"When I became aware that that had been sent out that way, I was a little concerned," Gill told The Associated Press on Friday. "Being drunk does not negate the issue."
Gill said senior staff in his office spoke with the attorney who drafted the letter about "levels of sensitivity and making sure that we phrase our statements appropriately."
He said prosecutors always discuss or consider whether a victim or perpetrator is intoxicated or under the influence, but that's not enough to say that a crime didn't happen or that you can't proceed with charges.
After six to eight attorneys looked over the evidence, they felt there wasn't enough to prosecute, Gill said.
Police then asked the Utah attorney general's office to look at the case, which charged Christopher Jordan Anger with forcible sodomy and object rape Thursday.
Anger does not have a listed phone number where he could be reached for comment and does not yet have an attorney to comment on his behalf.
Gill said it's very rare for the state to charge someone with a crime after the county district attorney declines.
"I try not to second-guess the attorney general, and if the attorney wants to try and second-guess us, that's his prerogative," Gill said. "We did about as thorough of a review of it as we could."
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
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