Utah man charged with kidnapping 9-year-old, sexually assaulting her multiple times

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (KSL.com) — A Salt Lake man was charged Monday with putting a young girl in a car trunk, tying her up and sexually assaulting her at several locations.

Tyler James Webb, 23, is charged in 3rd District Court with child kidnapping, rape of a child, sodomy upon a child, three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, all first-degree felonies; and aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony.

The disturbing case involves a 9-year-old girl. She was doing her chores in her home on April 13, 2022, when her sister contacted Webb and told him to pick the 9-year-old up, according to charging documents. Court documents do not say how the sister knew Webb or if she had any knowledge of what he was allegedly planning to do to the girl.

When Webb arrived at the residence, police say he put the girl in the trunk of his car. He then took the girl to a car wash and used one of the vacuums to sexually assault her, according to charging documents.

The girl “tried to run away, but Webb slapped and choked her” and threw the girl back into the car’s trunk. She was then “driven to the mountains and placed on the edge of a cliff” where she was sexually assaulted again, the charges allege.

Webb next drove the girl to his father’s residence where the girl “tried to run from Webb, but he caught her and tied her up again,” according to the charges. Police say the girl was sexually assaulted two more times before Webb took her to the state Capitol and took inappropriate photos of her.

Taylorsville police investigated the case. It was not known Monday when police became aware of the allegations, how they were informed or why it took so long to file charges.

Prosecutors have requested that Webb be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail pending trial, “due to the serious nature of the allegations and to keep the victim safe.”