Utahn convicted in fatal bar fight accused of sexually abusing child during sleepover

Utahn convicted in fatal bar fight accused of sexually abusing child during sleepover

(Utah County Jail)


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.

PLEASANT GROVE — A man previously convicted of sucker-punching a man and killing him is now accused of sexually assaulting a girl who was attending a sleepover at his girlfriend's house.

Eon Clayton McNeill, 32, of Pleasant Grove, is charged in 4th District Court with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.

On July 14, an 11-year-old girl was attending a sleepover at her friend's house in Pleasant Grove when McNeill approached the sleeping child and twice tried to pull down her shorts and touched her over her clothing, according to charging documents. She told police the man told her to trust him and that he wouldn't hurt her.

"The victim was saying 'no' loud enough that her friend started to wake up and defendant went back in his room," the charges state.

About 5 a.m. the girl told her friend that she needed to get out of the house and ran to her grandmother's house several blocks away, according to charging documents.

Police say McNeill was dating the mother of children living at the apartment and had spent the night there. He denied the allegations and said he only got up to go to the bathroom because he was sick, a police affidavit states. McNeill's next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27.

In 2013, he was convicted of criminal homicide by assault and obstructing justice, both third-degree felonies. In that case, in 2012 a man was escorted out of a bar in American Fork for being too intoxicated and "becoming a problem," charging documents state. McNeill, who was also in the bar and "was apparently irritated at the victim's behavior," followed the man outside and "cold cocked" him, punching him in the head without provocation or warning, the charges state.

Trenton Hall fell to the ground and his head hit the pavement, causing a skull fracture. He died a few days later.

McNeill was sentenced to two terms of zero to five years in prison. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrent and concurrent with other sentences.

In 2009, McNeill pleaded guilty to an amended charge of attempted dealing in harmful materials to a minor. In 2007, he was convicted of drug possession and sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast