- Ashton Kealii Domingo, 30, faces rape and sodomy charges for an alleged sexual relationship with a teen.
- Domingo, a manager at the Smoked Taco, allegedly started the relationship in August 2024.
- Prosecutors request Domingo be held without bail due to an alleged pattern of behavior.
BOUNTIFUL — A restaurant manager was charged Thursday with engaging in an illegal relationship with a teen employee.
Ashton Kealii Domingo, 30, of South Salt Lake, was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with rape and forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies.
Domingo, a manager at the Smoked Taco, 245 W. 500 South in Bountiful, is accused of engaging "in unlawful sexual activity with an employee while she was 17 years old and continuing after she turned 18," starting in August of 2024, according to charging documents.
Investigators say Domingo was in a managerial position over the teen when he worked in Utah County, and then convinced her to assist him after he was assigned to the new Bountiful restaurant.
"Domingo engaged in flirtatious activity with the victim, began to secretly date her, and ultimately engaged in a monthslong sexual relationship. Domingo knew the victim's age, knew that sexual fraternization with an employee was contrary to his company's policies, and knew that his actions with a minor were illegal," the charges allege.
Domingo had also "been disciplined at a prior job years ago for engaging in a similar relationship with a younger employee and encouraged her not to tell any of their co-workers or they would both be fired," according to the charges.
Investigators say the teen "experienced a hostile work environment for some time while secretly engaging in a sexual relationship with Domingo, as he would treat her poorly in an effort to disguise his relationship with the victim. Ultimately, the victim quit her job, reported the unlawful relationship to her former co-workers, and reported the relationship to law enforcement," the charges state.
In addition to providing police with text messages exchanged between her and Domingo, "the victim also recorded Domingo during a conversation in which he admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim several times while she was 17 years old," court documents say.
Due to Domingo's "apparent pattern of grooming and sexually manipulating minors over whom he has a position of special trust," prosecutors have requested that he be held in the Davis County Jail without the possibility of posting bail.
