ST. GEORGE — A local man is in jail facing multiple felony charges following an investigation into a report that he sexually abused and raped a 10-year-old girl.
Melvin Guerra-Paniagu, 31, of St. George, was arrested and booked on four first-degree felonies, including three counts of sodomy of a child and one count of rape of a child. He also faces four second-degree felony counts of sexual abuse of a child.
The charges stem from an investigation that began when detectives received a report that a child was sexually abused and sodomized on multiple occasions over the course of several months in 2018, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in support of the arrest.
During interviews held at the Children’s Justice Center, officers learned the suspect would allegedly go to the child’s house and sexually abuse her while her mother was away from the home at work.
Paniagu also reportedly threatened to hurt the child if she didn’t comply and told her he “would do things to her sister if she didn’t listen to him,” officers noted in the report.
As the abuse escalated, the suspect allegedly made multiple attempts to have sexual intercourse with the child. While he was unsuccessful in those attempts, police say he did sexually abuse the child in other ways and would physically detain her when she attempted to leave.
During an interview with police, the suspect allegedly admitted to knowing the child but denied all allegations against him. And while he did not call the girl a liar, officers noted, he continued to deny that he sexually abused her.
Based on the interviews and statements gleaned during the investigation, Paniagu was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility where he remains on $50,000 bail.
This report is based on information provided by law enforcement 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.
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