Alcohol party leads to sexual assault of a minor

Stock Image | St. George News / Cedar City News
Robert Anthony King Jr. was arrested for unlawful sexual activity in December, 2016, Cedar City, Utah, December 13, 2016 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY – A West Jordan man is facing zero to five years in prison for having sex with a minor after giving her alcohol at a party last year.

Robert Anthony King Jr., 22, pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony for unlawful sexual activity with a minor and a class A misdemeanor for knowingly furnishing alcohol to a minor. In exchange for the guilty plea, the Iron County Attorney’s Office dismissed a second misdemeanor charge for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The third-degree felony carries a sentence of zero to five years in the Utah State Prison.

King and Zayn Jeffrey Tidwell were traveling through town in May 2016 when the two men “hooked up” with a group of Cedar City teenagers, according to the probable cause statement filed in 5th District Court. Both men were 21 years old at the time.

King invited the group over to his hotel room at Days Inn for an alcohol party where several of the teenagers became intoxicated.

During the course of the evening, several other teenagers present at the hotel that night witnessed King sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl who officers described as “fairly intoxicated.”

Tidwell is also facing similar charges for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

A warrant was requested for both King and Tidwell’s arrest in December 2016 after authorities were unable to locate them. King appeared in court for the first time last month.

King is scheduled to appear in court again June 13 for sentencing following a presentence investigation report.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @tracie_sullivan

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • lauren May 4, 2017 at 7:29 am

    This headline is offensive and leads to rape culture. Please change it. An alcohol party did not lead to a sexual assault. A man who chose to assault a teen girl lead to a sexual assault.

    • sagemoon May 4, 2017 at 11:08 am

      I agree. Try “Man at alcohol party sexually assaults minor”

    • mesaman May 4, 2017 at 11:45 am

      More precisely; Alcohol Party Results in Teenager Being Sexually Assaulted. Agreed, the party wasn’t the cause, but if the teenagers hadn’t been there the sexual assault on one of them would not have happened. Alcohol consumption by the teenager made her vulnerable to a predator who took advantage of the circumstances. Now, hopefully he will spend time at the “Draper’s Days Inn”.

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