Utah police say man sexually assaulted girlfriend, refused to let her leave before she escaped
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OREM, Utah — An Orem man was arrested after police say he tied up his live-in girlfriend and held her against her will for nearly 12 hours before she was able to escape and call for help late Saturday night.
Majed Saleh, 28, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated kidnapping, domestic violence-aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault and drug-related offenses, and booked into Utah County Jail.
KSL.com reports Orem police responded to a report of an assault just before midnight Saturday when the father of the victim called to report that his daughter was injured, according to a jail report. Arriving officers noticed “several injuries across her entire body, which mostly consisted of bruises and ligature marks,” the report stated.
She was transported to a hospital, and doctors there diagnosed her with a broken nose and a facial fracture.
The woman told police that Saleh assaulted her after she refused to engage in sexual activity, the report states. He also produced a knife and threatened to kill the woman during the course of the day, according to the jail report.
The woman added that she was threatened each time she tried to leave the home.
“At each attempt, the offender would drag her back into the apartment and restrain her in many forms,” the report stated. “One form of restraint being him using his size and weight. Another form being him punching, slapping and hitting her with items such as a baseball bat.”
The woman also accused Saleh of binding her feet and hands with socks and of sexually assaulting her during the day before she was finally able to escape the apartment, according to the report.
Orem police then executed both an arrest warrant and a search warrant of the apartment complex the two lived at, where Saleh was taken into custody. Police said the man refused to answer questions without a lawyer.
Police also located marijuana, marijuana plants and cocaine inside the apartment while executing a search warrant, according to the report.
Court records show Saleh has no previous criminal history in Utah.