Roosevelt man charged with rape

ROOSEVELT — A 50-year-old man surrendered to authorities last week following an initial court appearance on four charges related to the reported rape of a 17-year-old girl.

Patrick Henry McBride is charged with rape, forcible sodomy and two counts of forcible sex abuse. He appeared briefly Thursday before 8th District Judge John R. Anderson, who confirmed McBride's address and informed him of the charges.

The four counts against McBride all stem from a May 18 incident that police believe occurred in his home. Roosevelt Police Lt. Ben Lemmon said the victim had gone to the home to visit McBride's teenage daughter but ultimately ended up alone with McBride in the master bedroom, which is where the family typically gathers to watch TV.

"He asked her some questions about what she was wearing and eventually reaches over and touches her on the outside of her clothing, top and bottom," Lemmon said.

Lemmon said police believe that McBride sexually abused the girl and then closed the bedroom door and raped her. The teen left the home after the attack and did not seek medical attention until two days later, Lemmon said. He said she confronted McBride and his wife with her allegations before police were notified.

"She's very traumatized by this," Lemmon said, adding that during interviews at the Duchesne County Children's Justice Center, the girl "disclosed a lot of things that someone who is fabricating a story wouldn't have seen, experienced, thought of or could articulate."

Lemmon obtained a search warrant for McBride's home based on the center's interviews and other physical evidence collected from the victim. The warrant was served May 22, and items taken from the home have been sent to the Utah State Crime Lab for testing.

Under an agreement between Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote and defense attorney Ken Brown, McBride's bail was reduced from $60,000 to $25,000 at Thursday's hearing. As a condition of his release, McBride is not allowed to live at home. He is also prohibited from unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18 and cannot contact the victim.

Brown declined to comment on the charges against his client as he left court, saying he had not yet had an opportunity to examine the state's evidence. McBride turned himself in to the Roosevelt Police Department after the hearing and was briefly jailed before posting bond. A July 5 status hearing has been scheduled.

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E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com