- Joshua Palacios, 35, is charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual abuse.
- Palacios allegedly assaulted a woman he offered a ride to.
- Police seek more victims, citing similar past reports of a driver's behavior.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Woods Cross man has been charged with assaulting a woman he gave a ride to "under the guise of being kind and friendly."
Joshua Palacios, 35, was arrested Tuesday and charged Friday in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Salt Lake police say they have investigated three other reports in the past few years of a man "offering unknown females rides, then immediately grabbing their thighs," and are asking anyone who may have been victimized or may have information about the man to come forward.
On Tuesday, a woman "was at the courthouse in Bountiful waiting for a friend to pick her up, when an male, who identified himself as 'John Kimber,' later identified as defendant Joshua Palacios, offered her a ride to Salt Lake City," according to charging documents.
As soon as the woman got into his vehicle, Palacious "immediately grabbed her thigh, lower back, and buttocks. (The woman) said she pushed his hand away and told him to 'stop being weird and a creep,'" charging documents state. But Palacios continued touching her the "entirety of the drive from Bountiful to Salt Lake City, despite her objections."
About 11 a.m., Palacios let the woman out of his vehicle in a parking lot near 100 South and West Temple.
"The victim reported that as she walked away, she observed Joshua cleaning her hair off of the passenger seat, rolling down the windows, and spraying some product all over the vehicle," a police booking affidavit states.
The woman then notified a nearby security guard who "observed the driver of the vehicle cleaning out the passenger seat and moving items to block the seat. The driver of the vehicle was photographed by the security guard," according to police.
The security guard turned that information over to Salt Lake police who were able to identify Palacios.
"Based on the ongoing investigation, Salt Lake City police detectives have reason to believe additional individuals may have been victimized by Palacios," the department said in a statement Wednesday.
Anyone with information about Palacios is asked to call police at 801-799-3000.
