Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR CITY — A man was charged in 5th District Court Friday after prosecutors allege he raped a 17-year-old employee twice during a monthslong span of sexual abuse, according to court documents.
Joshua Michael Downard, 35, of Cedar City, was charged with two counts of rape, a first-degree felony; forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and a sexual battery, a class-A misdemeanor, in connection with the case. Jail records show he was arrested the same day charges were filed, and he made his initial appearance in court Wednesday.
An investigation began when police responded to a possible domestic violence incident at Downard’s home on Aug. 8, court documents stated. As Cedar City police investigated the case, they learned Downard had told his wife he “had multiple incidents of adultery to include having sex with a 17-year-old girl employee at the restaurant where he is her supervisor,” according to a police affidavit attached to charging documents.
Downard’s wife had filed for divorce two weeks before the call, according to court documents.
Police wrote in the affidavit that Downard was the girl’s immediate supervisor at a restaurant with an address that, when searched, shows up as a Jimmy John’s sandwich shop in the city. It added Downard “ran the store” where he, his wife and the teenage girl worked at one point.
It was unclear if Downard is still employed at the Jimmy John’s location. A store manager who answered a phone call Wednesday declined to comment on the case.
Through the help of the Iron County Children’s Justice Center, the girl was interviewed as the police investigation progressed. She told investigators that in April, Downard asked her to take her on a ride in his truck and took her to a remote area near I-15, between Summit and Parowan in Iron County, before he “forcefully removed her pants against her will and raped her” in the vehicle, police wrote in the affidavit.
The teenager told police Downard threatened her and her family if she told anyone of the incident, and that Downard had a concealed handgun with him that he was known to “regularly carry,” the affidavit stated.
Those threats persisted in the months after the incident. The girl told police there were other incidents in Iron, Washington and Salt Lake counties, the affidavit continued.
She also said she was sexually abused “nearly every day she was scheduled to work,” with incidents occurring at the store after the April incident, according to the affidavit.
On June 3, Downard told the girl to come with him to a cabin in Brian Head, where a sexual battery incident was reported, documents state.
Police allege Downard also took the teen to a campsite near Brian Head in or about Aug. 18 — 10 days after police responded to a domestic call at his home. There, the girl was told “to pretend like the two of them were romantically involved,” the affidavit stated.
It added that the two shared a tent where, she told authorities, Downard raped her again despite her pleas to stop, according to the affidavit.
Police confirmed through Downard’s ex-wife and a witness that Downard “carries a concealed weapon on him daily and practices with it regularly,” according to the affidavit. It added he owned multiple firearms, and had told his ex-wife, prior to being arrested Friday, that “he would get into a shootout with law enforcement to prevent his arrest.” Police located a loaded firearm on him when he was arrested, the affidavit continued.
Court records show Downard had no previous major criminal history prior to charges filed Friday. Downard is scheduled for a preliminary hearing, to determine whether there is enough evidence to bind the case over for trial, on Jan. 8.
