Police: Landlord held woman hostage, raped and beat her


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SANDY — A Sandy man was charged Wednesday with kidnapping, beating and raping a woman who recently began renting a room from him.

Now, detectives are investigating whether the man may have lured other women to his house and assaulted them, too.

Vratislav Roger Bilek, 60, was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, rape and three counts of object rape, all first-degree felonies. He was also charged with drug possession and two counts of aggravated assault, third-degree felonies; and sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor.

A 40-year-old woman told police she met Bilek at the Colonial Village Motel in Salt Lake City on Sunday and he offered to rent a room to her in his house, 563 Fruitwood Lane (10805 South), according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.

She told police that Bilek's house "has cameras recording many of the bedrooms and VHS tapes all over. She said that he also had IDs or copies of women's IDs in his room with their addresses," the report states.


If you go out that door, I'm going to kill you.

–Vratislav Bilek to the woman he held hostage


The woman told police she and Bilek took methamphetamine, then later got into an argument and she told him she was going to leave.

Bilek told her, "If you go out that door, I'm going to kill you," according to charging documents.

As the argument escalated, Bilek punched the woman in the face, the report states. The woman fought back and hit Bilek in the nose.

During the ensuing struggle, the woman told police that Bilek strangled her, held her face in a bathtub of water in an attempt to drown her, held a gun to her head, sexually assaulted her with a sledgehammer and forced pills down her mouth, according to the charges.

As the woman tried to run down the stairs to get away, Bilek "jumped on her back and 'rode her' down the stairs," the report states.

Bilek threatened to rape and kill her on several occasions, according to prosecutors.

Police say at some point, the woman was able to get out of the house and ran to a neighbor's house where she pounded on the front door and cried for help, the report states. Police were called to the home about 1:50 a.m. on Sept. 1.

When detectives arrived, the woman "had visible injuries" and was taken to Alta View Hospital where medical crews noted a large bruise and lump over her left eye, a bruised and swollen lip and red marks on her neck, according to charging documents.

Detectives who later searched the house found Bilek with fresh injuries, personal objects belonging to the woman, and drops of blood "scattered in various parts of the residence, the report states.

On Aug. 8, Sandy police responded to a similar incident in the same neighborhood involving another woman who had run to a neighbor's house "naked and injured" and pleading for help, according to the report. She told detectives that "Roger" had offered her a place to stay and then beat her, causing her to lose consciousness multiple times, according to the report.

"I felt bad because she was out here crying," neighbor Kim Fairbourn said. "She just said, 'Please help me, please let me in. I need help!'"

Neighbor Joe Maestas witnessed a similar occurrence.

"All of a sudden I see this girl run in there," he said. "She's completely naked. Her face was beat up and she had bruises on her ribs and on her legs."

Maestas was shocked to hear the woman explain what had happened.

"This girl here said that he had her locked up for two days at his house," he said.

"In a closet," Karen Maestas added.

The next-door neighbors say Bilek is a trucker who lived in the neighborhood for 15 years.

"He was always just a little off," Karen Maestas said.

But recently? They say Bilek's behavior grew stranger. Sheets covered some windows, cameras peered out others. Nothing, though, prepared them for the latest accusations.

"It's kind of spooky knowing things like this go on right next door," Joe Maestas said.

Sandy police are still investigating what happened in August, and say if anyone else fell victim to Bilek to call them.

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Pat Reavy

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