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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
Karen Scullin ReportingA nineteen-year old woman was raped in the back seat of her own car as her attackers posed as police officers. Tonight investigators need your help in identifying the men responsible.
It happened about 12:30, this morning in a residential area in Ft. Union. The victim says the headlights were flashing, alternating back and forth and she thinks there was also a red flashing light. But when she got out of her car she quickly found out the two men inside were not the police.
She had been followed for twenty blocks, heading north on Highland Drive. She was nervous, but when the car tailing her turned on flashing lights she thought it was the police so the girl pulled over.
Capt. Dave Burdett, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: “One of them identified himself as a police officer and said that she was speeding."
It's believed the two men then asked her to get out of the vehicle. She did. She was overpowered, forced into the backseat of her own car and raped.
Capt. Dave Burdett: "She was threatened and very scared. She's a traumatized woman right now."
The men were dressed in dark clothing. Her attacker even wore a blue button up shirt that resembled a police uniform, and he had handcuffs in his rear pocket.
Investigators believe this is the first time the two men have pulled off such a crime, but they fear it won't be the last. So Burdett is sending out a warning to other drivers to be confident that it is a police officer who is asking you to stop. He suggests you pull over only in a well-lit, populated location. And ask for a badge and identification.
Capt. Dave Burdett: “if that person is still unsure whether that is a police officer or not, that person is totally within their rights to ask that a marked police car to join that stop before they are ever asked to exit their vehicle."
