Utah man accused of drugging woman's tea, sexually extorting her

A Tooele County man who police say put a sleeping pill in a woman's tea without her knowledge and told her she could not stay at his residence unless she had sex with him has been charged in Utah's 3rd District Court.

A Tooele County man who police say put a sleeping pill in a woman's tea without her knowledge and told her she could not stay at his residence unless she had sex with him has been charged in Utah's 3rd District Court. (BCFC, Shutterstock)


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STANSBURY PARK — A Tooele County man is accused of drugging a woman and telling her she could not stay at his house unless she had sex with him, according to prosecutors.

John Patrick Frankenberg, 61, of Stansbury Park, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with surreptitious administration of a substance and sexual extortion, both third-degree felonies.

On Jan. 21, about 11:40 p.m., a woman sent text messages to a friend stating that "she had been drugged by John Frankenberg and is scared," according to a police booking affidavit. The friend called police and shared screenshots of messages the woman had sent. In the messages, Frankenberg told her he put Ambien, a sleeping pill, in her tea without her knowledge and that "if she did not have sex with him she did not have a place to live," the affidavit states.

Police responded to Frankenberg's residence where they found the woman in the basement.

"When the victim answered the door she was very groggy and expressed how sleepy and tired she was but did not know why. I asked the victim if John gave her anything to drink and she said 'yes.' I asked if she knew if there was something in the drink and she said 'no,'" the affidavit states.

Police then questioned Frankenberg, who admitted to putting Ambien in the woman's drink without her knowledge, according to the affidavit. He also said he told the woman "she had to have sex with him in order to live at the house."

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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.

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