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SALT LAKE CITY — Criminal charges were filed Wednesday against a man accused of breaking into a young girl's house and raping her twice.
Gule S. Cheway, 21, is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of rape of a child, a first-degree felony.
The incidents allegedly happened in January of 2020, when Cheway was 19. A 12-year-old girl began receiving messages on Facebook from Cheway. The girl told Cheway she was 12, but Cheway began calling her "babe" and the girl blocked him from sending additional messages, according to charging documents.
Cheway then began following the girl on Instagram and told her that he wanted to be her boyfriend, the charges state. The girl once again blocked him.
Then between Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2020, Cheway showed up at the girl's Sandy house three times. The first time Cheway pushed his way into her house when the girl was alone, overpowered her and raped her, according to the charges.
Three days later, Cheway returned and the girl's sister answered the door. When Cheway said he wanted the sister as well, the girl began fighting with him and "told her little sister to go in her room and lock the door," the charges state. The girl said she was again raped, the charges state.
The third time Cheway paid a visit, investigators said both the girl and her sister were able to push him out of their house.
The girl said Cheway gave her a cellphone to "keep her quiet," but later said "he was going to send people to (the girl's) house to kill her," according to the charges.
Police say the girl contacted officers on Feb. 4, 2020.
Prosecutors have requested that Cheway be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending trial, noting that Cheway is a refugee from Africa and still has family there, making him a "substantial flight risk."
