Rexburg man arrested, charged with lewd conduct and sexual abuse of a minor
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REXBURG — A Rexburg man has been arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old child several times over the past year, following an investigation from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
Bryan Nicholas Gonzalez, 35, has been charged with one count of aggravated lewd conduct with a child and one count of sexual abuse of a child. Both are felonies.
Court documents say on July 9, the victim’s mother noticed unusual behavior and asked the victim what had happened. The victim reportedly disclosed the assaults to their mother.
On July 16 a forensic interview was done at the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center in Rigby. During the interview, the victim disclosed multiple instances of abuse that had occurred at three different locations.
According to the victim’s statements in the forensic interview, Gonzalez had allegedly assaulted the victim several times in the back of a semi-truck, several times at the victim’s home and on two instances while the victim was camping in a backyard this past summer.
In addition, the victim reportedly alleged Gonzalez would forcibly restrain them during several of the instances of abuse, preventing the victim from leaving.
Criminal charges against Gonzalez were requested Aug. 26 and a criminal case was filed Aug. 27.
If found guilty of the charges, Gonzalez may face up to life in prison and be required to pay fines of up to $100,000.
Gonzalez has not yet been appointed an attorney.
He is set to appear in court Sep. 9 for a preliminary hearing.
Although Gonzalez has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.