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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
PROVO — The owner of a Utah County convenience store has been charged with raping an employee on Christmas.
Mukesh Pathak Bindraban, 61, of Provo, was charged Thursday in 4th District Court with object rape and forcible sodomy, both first-degree felonies; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
On Dec. 25, a woman was scheduled to work at a 7-Eleven in Lindon at 10:30 p.m. Bindraban, who is listed in charging documents as the owner/manager of the store, called the 23-year-old woman and asked her to come to his house before going to work.
“The victim went to defendant’s residence in Provo thinking that he wanted to talk to her about work or that he had her new uniform for her,” the charges state. When she arrived, she said she could tell Bindraban had been drinking, and he allegedly tried to get the woman to drink.
“The victim also saw that the defendant had numerous guns located in the room, including one under a cushion. All of the weapons were accessible to the defendant,” the charges state. “He continued to pressure her to drink and to kiss him and to sit by him. ... The victim tried to resist defendant’s advances but he became belligerent and the victim was afraid of what he might do.”
The woman eventually went into the restroom and turned on her cellphone’s recording device. The phone recorded more than 50 minutes “with the victim saying no and trying to come up with reasons that she needed to leave,” according to the charges.
When the woman told her boss she needed to go to work, he called another employee to cover for her until 3 a.m., police say.
Bindraban then inappropriately touched the woman, the charges state. When she was able to leave, the woman reported the incident to police.
