- Salt Lake pedicab driver John Riley Harper faces multiple sexual assault charges.
- Prosecutors allege Harper drugged and assaulted at least three women since 2019; more victims feared.
- District Attorney urges additional victims to report; investigation may lead to more charges.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake pedicab driver accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women whom he gave rides to is facing a dozen charges.
And prosecutors fear there could be additional victims.
John Riley Harper, 45, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with four counts of rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies; two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; two counts of surreptitious administering of a substance and aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and drug possession, a class A misdemeanor.
"The allegations against the defendant go back to 2019 and involve six alleged victim-survivors," the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office stated Thursday.
The investigation began on June 18 when a woman accompanied Harper to a park. Harper told the woman his name was Alonzo Riley, according to charging documents. While at the park, Harper served her three glasses of wine.
"(The woman) explained that after consuming wine, she had no memory of what happened and stated she did not drink enough alcohol to make her black out," the charges state.
The woman woke up naked next to Harper, who told her they had had sex, something the woman told Harper she would never do, according to the charges. While at a local hospital undergoing a sexual assault examination, "she received lab results following her exam that showed she had cocaine and ecstasy in her system and stated she never voluntarily took either of those drugs and had no memory of consuming either," according to the charges.
After Harper was arrested, Salt Lake City police said they believed there were additional victims and asked anyone with information about the case or anyone who believes they may have had a similar encounter with Harper to contact them
According to charging documents filed Thursday, a woman in 2022 reported that she got a ride home from Harper in his pedicab and that during the ride, he gave her a bottle of water.
"(She) said she did not remember anything until after she woke up the next morning," the charges state. "Toxicology reports showed that (the woman) had cocaine in her system, which she denied taking."
The woman also reported being sexually assaulted.
A third woman reported that in March, Harper also offered her some water.
"She reported that after that, she had no recollection of what happened, but she woke up in Harper's trailer and was fully nude," according to the charges. "(She) said she did not consume enough alcohol to experience a blacked-out state. (She) said when she woke up, she felt groggy, and her body felt sore, and she believed Harper drugged her."
Three other women reported similar experiences to police dating back to 2019, according to the charges.
"The defendant, in this matter, is an extreme danger to the women within this community and used his job position as a pedicab driver to prey upon women. Multiple women reported using the defendant's pedicab services and being offered water, which put them in a blackout state. It was reported that (he) would often sit outside of bars and wait until intoxicated women walked out, then offer them a ride," prosecutors wrote in their charges.
"It was reported to law enforcement that (Harper) had been sexually assaulting women for at least the last 15 years, in the Salt Lake County area and surrounding counties," the document continues. "This case is still under investigation and could result in additional charges."
On Thursday, District Attorney Sim Gill publicly asked that "if there are other individuals that may have had similar alleged experiences as the victim-survivors in this case, we urge them to report that to law enforcement."
