Canadian man faces felony sexual assault charges after date with Hurricane woman he met online

Hurricane Police vehicle stock photo | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Canadian man is facing two first-degree felonies following a months-long investigation by the Hurricane Police Department into a report of a sexual assault that took place two summers ago between the suspect and a woman he had met online.

File photo of Sand Hollow Reservoir for illustrative purposes only, Hurricane, Utah, Sept. 18, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The arrest stems from an investigation that was set in motion in July 2021, when the Hurricane Police department received a report of a sexual assault involving 22-year-old Teague Nicholas May, who allegedly assaulted a woman he met on an online.

Hurricane Police Officer Dan Raddatz told St. George News the investigation began in July, but the incident reportedly took place in August 2020. Raddatz said the reporting party was hesitant to call authorities initially and then decided to report it to police 11 months later.

The woman told police the 2020 incident took place after the two made arrangements to meet at a restaurant before going to a local lake. After dinner, the woman said they went to the lake and that when they got there, May began making inappropriate advances toward her.

She said that when May forcibly kissed her, she told him that she was not interested in him and asked to be taken back to her vehicle that was still parked at the restaurant.

As the pair headed back in May’s truck, he reportedly slapped the cell phone out of the woman’s hand and demanded she pay attention to him while on the date. The woman also said he appeared tense and agitated when he spoke to her, and when he again attempted to get close to her, she told him she didn’t want anything to happen. At that point, she said, May grabbed her hair and sexually assaulted her.

When the truck pulled into the restaurant parking lot where the woman’s car was still parked, she said she was unable to open the pickup door and that May “would not allow her out” of the vehicle. After struggling with the door she was finally able to open it and left in her own vehicle.

Shortly after the incident, the woman told her mother and a friend about the incident, and 11 months later it was reported to police.

Through the course of the subsequent investigation, detectives interviewed May, who reportedly admitted to going on a date with the woman but denied inappropriately touching her or that anything occurred such as what was described in the woman’s statement.

May allegedly said he had only kissed the woman and that as the date progressed, he got the impression the woman was not interested in him, so they returned to the restaurant where her vehicle was parked and then went their separate ways.

May also told officers he was a Canadian citizen and was in the United States on a status card but was not a U.S. citizen, the report states, adding that May’s truck is registered in Alberta, Canada.

Raddatz said that following the initial interview, detectives executed a number of search warrants and conducted several interviews until the investigation progressed to the point where the case was ready to be submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.

Shortly after, May was formally charged with two first-degree felony charges, including forcible sodomy and object rape, and on Wednesday, he was arrested and booked into jail in Washington County on the charges.

Due to his citizenship status, his bail was set at $50,000. The suspect was later released after posting a bond.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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