Police seeking information about possible other victims in Rexburg rape case
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REXBURG — Police believe a man accused of rape in Rexburg may have victimized other women.
Gary Jason Tauialo, 31, was charged with rape where the victim resists but is overcome by force or violence, and forcible sexual penetration by a foreign object for an alleged sexual assault that occurred at a Latter-day Saint chapel in January 2018.
Since local media covered the case, Rexburg Detective Dave Hope said the police department has received two other reports from women who say they were assaulted by Tauialo. Hope says Tauialo may have victimized others and is encouraging the victims to come forward. Anyone with information can contact the department at (208) 359-3008.
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The case against Tauialo involves an incident where he and the victim were playing volleyball at the church with friends. Afterward, Tauialo told her because of his position as the ward clerk, he needed to lock up the doors of the church before they left. The victim went around the church with Tauialo to lock up the building, and that is when he allegedly assaulted her.
“She said that after they had checked on a door under a staircase, she was turning to walk away when Jason grabbed her by the waist, turned her around and started kissing her. She stated that Jason then pushed her against a wall and stuck his hands down her pants,” according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Tauialo allegedly continued to sexually assault the victim as she repeatedly told Tauailo no. Eventually, Tauialo led the victim into a room upstairs and closed the door behind him. She told police that he then violently raped her.
The victim told detectives Tauialo took her home, at which point she had a friend take her to the emergency room for a sexual assault examination.
Detectives spoke with Tauialo, who said it was the victim who initiated the kissing, but when pressed further, he asked for a lawyer. Police later gathered a DNA sample from Tauialo through a warrant and sent the sample to a state crime lab for testing. On Dec. 12, the Idaho State Police contacted the Rexburg Police Department with results from the DNA swab. According to court documents, the DNA collected during the sexual assault examination is a statistically likely match to the DNA swab collected from Tauialo through the warrant.
Tauialo was arrested in January but released in late April after paying a $15,000 bond.
His trial is set to begin July 17.