ST. GEORGE — A man is facing felony kidnapping and sexual assault charges following an incident involving a Dixie State University student.
Jack Anthony Brown, 19, of St. George, was arrested Thursday by Dixie State University Police for an incident that occurred during a party at Brown’s residence last weekend, according to a probable cause statement.
While at Brown’s home, Brown and the female DSU student had gone into a bathroom where they “engaged in mutual kissing and sexual acts before (the woman) told Jack she wanted to leave the bathroom,” the statement reads.
Brown is accused of holding the woman in the bathroom against her will and putting his hand over her mouth when her friends came looking for her. Prior to that she had sent her friends a text message saying, “Please help me,” according to the statement.
Brown “continued to engaged in sexual acts” with the woman despite her telling him “no” and “please stop” multiple times, according to the probable cause statement.
When the two finally left the bathroom, witnesses told investigators that the woman looked emotional distraught and was crying while Brown “looked smug and went back to drinking alcohol” once the woman and her friends left.
The woman filed a report with Dixie State’s Title IX office and the campus police became involved at her request.
While the incident did not happen on campus grounds, Dixie State Police Chief Blair Barfuss said that peace officers in Utah have statewide jurisdiction that allows them to act anywhere within the state as needed.
He also said the campus police have a great working relationship with the St. George Police Department, which handed the case over to the campus police to pursue.
Brown has been charged with second-degree felony kidnapping and first-degree felony forcible sodomy and is currently being held at the Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Cases of alcohol-related sex abuse and assault on college and university campuses across the country are high, Barfuss said.
Efforts are underway between campus police and university student associations to education students concerning sexual assault and consent issues.
“We are actively engaged in spreading awareness,” Barfuss said.
Dixie State Police officers are also always available and willing to talk to the victims of sexual assault and discuss the options they have in its aftermath.
“We want to have that line of communication open with the community,” he said.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
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