Suspect accused of raping 7-year-old in St. George in custody on no-bail hold

2021 file photo of St. George Police, St. George, Utah, Dec. 17, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A local man is in jail following a monthslong investigation into allegations that he raped a 7-year-old girl while watching multiple children at his home in St. George several years ago.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, the case stems from an investigation that was set in motion when a woman called the St. George Police Department in September reporting that her daughter, who was 7 years old at the time, was raped by an extended relative a few years ago. On Sept. 24, the case was assigned to a detective to follow up on the report. 

During a series of interviews, officers learned the suspect, later identified as 40-year-old Jaime Cruz, was watching the child, along with several other children at his home in St. George, where Cruz lived at the time.  

While watching the children, the suspect reportedly took the young girl into a private bedroom, away from the other children he was watching, and raped her, abuse that officers say took place on a number of separate occasions. 

Police say the suspect also inappropriately touched the child during an all-night sleepover at his residence during that same time period.

The incidents were reported in September 2021 to the child’s mother, who then reported it to the police. Shortly after this, the mother also confronted the suspect, who initially denied the abuse ever took place but then apologized “for his behavior,” the detective noted in the report.  

Through the course of the investigation, officers interviewed Cruz, who reportedly denied ever abusing the child, but then he “corroborated that he would have been at the residence with the victim around the approximate timeframe in which she reported she was abused,” the report states. 

As the interview was wrapping up, the suspect reportedly told detectives if he had in fact abused the child, then he would have “taken off” and would not have remained in the area for police to find him. 

On Friday, the suspect was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on three first-degree felony offenses, including two counts of rape of a child and aggravated sexual abuse of a child. 

St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News the case involved several interviews, a thorough investigation into allegations of abuse that reportedly took place several years ago, as well as detectives working with the Washington County Attorney’s Office on the charges, all of which took several months to complete. 

The lengthier investigation was due to the seriousness of the charges and the evidence needed to support those charges, Mitchell added. 

At the time of Friday’s arrest, detectives requested a no-bail hold based on the suspect’s “willingness to abuse a family member in his own residence while charged with the care of other young children,” the report states, as well as the suspect claiming he would “take off” if he had committed the crime. 

The request was approved and Cruz remains in custody without bail.

Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum told St. George News the charges would be filed Monday afternoon. 

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.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!