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LEHI — A man who police say claimed he wanted to fulfill a fantasy of sexually assaulting a woman before he died is now facing criminal charges.
Hayden Paul Keller, 26, of Provo, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, and aggravated kidnapping in the course of committing unlawful detention, a third-degree felony.
On Feb. 20, a woman went to a Lehi hotel to meet Keller. But when she got to his room, he attacked her and held an X-acto knife in front of her, according to charging documents.
"(Keller's) actions made the victim extremely fearful that he was going to kill her so she grasped the knife with her hand and tried to push it away from her neck. The victim plead with the defendant to spare her life and tried to roll away from him," the charges state.
The woman's arm, a portion of her back and several fingers were cut as she rolled away from Keller, according to the charges. The woman yelled for help, prompting Keller to cover her mouth with his hand, charges state. She then bit Keller's hand and was able to run out of the room.
Keller had fled the area by the time police arrived at the hotel. Detectives found a rope and scissors left in the room, and hotel staffers later found a broken blade and duct tape, the charges state.
After identifying Keller as their potential suspect, police arranged for him to meet with his probation officer. When he showed up for the meeting, he was arrested.
Keller told police that he "wanted to experience the fantasy of sexually assaulting somebody before he died" and his plan was to tie the woman up, assault her and then take his own life in front of her, charging documents state.
The arrest comes just a few months after Keller was convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor. In that case, child pornography was found on his computer in addition to pornographic pictures that contained the faces of women photoshopped onto the bodies of children, charging documents state.
Keller received a suspended sentence of up to five years in the Utah State Prison, was ordered to serve 90 days in jail, and was placed on four years of probation.
