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VERNAL — A New Mexico man accused of kidnapping a teenage boy at a Uintah County hotel and sexually assaulting him is scheduled to be back in court on Wednesday.
Michael J. Grant, 31, of Bloomfield, New Mexico, was charged on July 5 in 8th District Court with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, six counts of forcible sodomy, and object rape, all first-degree felonies.
On July 2, a 14-year-old boy was walking by Grant's hotel room in Vernal, 1624 W. U.S. 40, when Grant "grabbed the minor by the wrist and pulled the minor into his room" and sexually assaulted him, according to charging documents.
He escaped after he "was eventually able to convince (Grant) to let him leave for a minute, but the defendant threatened him and told him he would hurt him if he did not come back," the charges state.
Later, when the teen was walking toward the pool, Grant grabbed him, forced him into his room and sexually assaulted him again, according to the charges.
Vernal police were contacted that same day and questioned Grant before placing him under arrest.
