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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
SPANISH FORK — The owner of a Spanish Fork restaurant has been arrested and accused of being sexually inappropriate with a teenage employee.
Kevin Gerald Bowman, 42, of Spanish Fork, was arrested last Thursday and charged Tuesday in 4th District Court with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and lewdness, a class B misdemeanor.
The investigation began June 8 when a 16-year-old girl told police "she was sexually assaulted by Kevin while at her place of employment at Teriyaki Madness," according to a police booking affidavit.
Police say Bowman is the owner of the restaurant at 788 N. 800 East.
The girl told police Bowman would "make inappropriate comments to her, call her beautiful and gorgeous, grabbed her breasts and would 'brush her butt,'" the affidavit alleges. She recounted several incidents to detectives, including a time when Bowman dropped his shorts and stood in front of the girl wearing "see-through" mesh underwear allegedly to show her his sunburn; a time he inappropriately touched her while applying itching cream to the girl, and a second time he inappropriately touched her, according to the affidavit.
Bowman was questioned at the Spanish Fork Police Department on Thursday. He denied many of the allegations or gave a different versions to some of the events than the girl, according to the arrest report.
"I advised Kevin it was concerning that he is a 42-year-old male and the victim is a 16-year-old female and he pulled down his pants to show her his sunburn. Kevin advised she asked to see it. He was advised that was bizarre behavior and it was also bizarre behavior for him to be applying cream to her back, especially by going under her shirt," the arresting officer wrote.
About 40 minutes after arriving at the police station, Bowman informed detectives that "he was done answering questions." He was placed into handcuffs at that time and arrested.
