Man arrested for ‘crime against nature’ after alleged sexual assault

UPDATE:

The crime against nature charge was reduced to misdemeanor battery in May 2016.

ORIGINAL STORY:

IDAHO FALLS — Authorities arrested a 28-year-old male for a felony crime against nature, following an alleged sexual assault that was reported Tuesday, Jan. 12.

Juan Carlos Gonzalez was taken into custody and booked into the Bonneville County Jail on Thursday, Jan. 14.

Police reports indicate Gonzalez sexually assaulted a 31-year-old male in the early morning hours Tuesday. The assault allegedly took place near the 200 block of East 14th Street.

Court documents show the victim told police that on Monday night he was at a cousins house in Firth drinking alcohol. Gonzalez is alleged to have called the victim at around 1 a.m. Tuesday. The man came to the house to pick Gonzalez up. The two returned to Gonzalez’s residence in Idaho Falls.

While at the Gonzalez residence the two drank together. The man reported he fell asleep on Gonzalez’s bed.

At some point in the early morning hours, the man awoke on the bed in a state of undress. He told police Gonzalez had removed his clothes and was performing a sex act on him.

Idaho Code defines a crime against nature as nonconsensual sodomy between two people or a penetrative sex act with an animal. The Gem State is one of a handful of states that still uses the term.

After he awoke the man began striking Gonzalez in the face. Gonzalez retreated to another room. The man followed and continued to strike him, according to court documents.

A roommate interrupted the confrontation. The man told the roommate he had been sexually assaulted and she offered to give the him a ride home.

The next morning, a family member convinced the man to go to the hospital, because he was in pain as a result of the alleged assault. At the hospital a rape kit was administered. The results of the test were not released.

Gonzalez was arraigned Friday afternoon and subsequently released to pre-trial service.