Man arrested for groping women on UVU campus


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OREM -- Police at Utah Valley University in Orem are investigating two sexual assaults on campus. Two female students say they were fondled by a man.

There are two victims from separate incidents, both on Monday. The women reported to police, and Wednesday night a suspect is in jail.

UVU spokesman Chris Taylor said, "Clearly this is inappropriate behavior, and it's behavior that is not going to be tolerated on our campus at any level."

Edwar Hone, 27, was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail by UVU police on two counts of forcible sexual assault.

According to court documents, the first incident happened late Monday morning when a woman reported to police she was approached by a man near the campus bookstore. He began to follow her, and despite her attempts to get away, he eventually groped her.

The second incident happened a couple of hours later in the liberal arts building. Again the woman tried to avoid the man, but she was also assaulted by him.

They both reported it to police, who reviewed surveillance video to identify a suspect.

Detectives say both victims were able to pull Hone's picture out of a photo lineup, and he was arrested.

"We're lucky in that these instances are few and far between, but when they do happen on campus, we take them very seriously," Taylor said. "We commend these young ladies for coming forward with some very helpful information."

Police say Hone admitted to talking to the women, but denied touching them. He is a UVU student and is a native of Peru. His status as a student is now under review by the university.

Bail has been set at $25,000 cash, and as of Wednesday night he remained in jail.

UVU is asking any other possible victims of Hone to call campus police and report it.

E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com

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