Man arrested after reportedly assaulting minor while she was sleeping
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IDAHO FALLS — A 36-year-old man has been arrested for reportedly sexually assaulting a minor at his home.
Joel Christopher Holloway was charged with felony sexual battery of a child committed by lewd or lascivious acts on a minor child 16 to 17 years of age.
On Nov. 11, a detective with the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office was asked to look into a Tri-County investigation out of Bonneville County. The detective learned of a report of a sexual battery between Holloway and a 16-year-old girl.
According to court documents, law enforcement responded to a home after the victim’s mother called the police and reported that Hollaway had sexually assaulted her daughter.
According to the woman, her daughter had texted her and told her that Holloway had sexually assaulted her at his home.
Police reports state that Holloway had touched the victim inappropriately while she was sleeping.
Deputies arrived at Holloway’s home and spoke with him. He said he had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up to the deputies at the door.
While interviewing the victim, deputies say she was “visibly upset” and crying. She told deputies she “acted like she was asleep on the couch” while Holloway was assaulting her.
She was reportedly “scared because when (Holloway) gets mad, it is not good.”
According to court documents, Holloway repeatedly tried to pull the victim’s pants off, and she continually pulled them back up. Eventually, the victim says Holloway “became aggressive and would forcefully throw her hands away to prevent pulling her pants up.”
The victim says she pretended to wake up and went to the bathroom to text her mother and tell her what happened.
Holloway was then detained for further investigation. He refused to answer any more questions from deputies without an attorney present. He was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on a bond of $250,000, and a no-contact order was issued for the victim.
Holloway is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 22. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Though Holloway has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.