Man arrested on rape charge of 15-year-old - East Idaho News
Crime Watch

Man arrested on rape charge of 15-year-old

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IDAHO FALLS — A 22-year-old local man is being charged with raping a 15-year-old girl.

Damien Hayes, 22, had just posted bond on felony grand theft and burglary charges when he was taken back into custody for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl in 2017. He was taken into custody on Feb. 21, on a $50,000 bond.

He is charged with rape where the perpetrator is over 18 and the victim is under 16.

The charge came after the victim allegedly took her 12-year-old sister to Hayes’ house after sneaking out. The sister allegedly told her mother that Hayes and the victim had gone into his room and she heard “moaning.”

Police reportedly found messages between Hayes and the victim where he called her “babe,” “love” and “honey.” They also found a message from Hayes to the victim’s mother allegedly asking her for permission to date her daughter. They found messages on the victim’s phone to her friends that talked about her sneaking out of her house to meet her boyfriend and needing a ride home.

According to documents, Hayes initially denied he had any relationship with the victim. When confronted with text messages between him and the victim, he said they only had sex once.

He claimed the victim showed him a fake ID and that his mother had seen it also.

“It wasn’t rape because she told me that she was 18,” Hayes reportedly told police.

According to documents, when pressed about a message asking that the victim’s parents not press charges Hayes told police that a friend of his must have hacked his Facebook page. He explained that specific friend has his password.

Hayes told police he has reading disabilities, a type of seizure disorder and a learning disability.

He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 9.

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