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WEST VALLEY CITY — A former employee of an oil changing business has been arrested for allegedly molesting a customer's 4-year-old girl in the store restroom.
Justin Erin Hill, 26, was arrested for investigation of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and kidnapping. Last week, Hill was charged in 3rd District Court with sodomy on a child in a separate incident.
Hill was an employee of Texaco Xpress Lube, 5534 W. 3500 South, and was working on June 2. A mother and her 4-year-old daughter were in the lobby waiting for their car when the young girl went to the restroom.
"It really wasn't a long ways away. The mother could almost see the bathroom from where she was at," said West Valley Police Sgt. Mike Powell.
The mother, however, did not see a man walk into the restroom after her daughter, Powell said. The man picked up the little girl and molested her, causing "numerous injuries to her genitalia," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
The man then walked out and went back to work. The girl came out to her mother who could immediately tell something was wrong.
"The mother looked at her, saw she didn't look quite right. Her daughter told her, ‘A man came in and touched me,' " Powell said.
Police were called to the store and interviewed people at the business but did not make any arrests.
Over the next few months, detectives continued to do follow-up interviews with customers who were in the store at the time and employees who were working, as well as collecting forensic evidence.
"The detectives were really diligent," Powell said.
Eighteen days after the incident at Xpress Lube, a 3-year-old boy was molested at a home. On June 22, West Valley police were called to investigate the case based on a referral case from the Division of Child and Family Services.
Based on information collected from that incident, Hill was charged with sodomy of a child on Nov. 18. After he was arrested and charged, he was interviewed again and more information was revealed that gave investigators enough evidence to arrest him in connection with the Xpress Lube assault, Powell said.
A manager who answered the phone at Xpress Lube Tuesday said Hill was fired from his job for a separate reason before his arrest.
"We're all upset about it," he said. "I regret it ever happened. I really do. In 30 years of doing business, this has never happened in any of my stores."
Powell said the incident was a good reminder for parents with young children to always accompany them to a public restroom. "Predators will look for specific things," he said.
The investigation into Hill continued Tuesday. A check of court records showed Hill was convicted of felony DUI in 2008.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com
