Police say teen solicited assault to miscarry baby

NAPLES, Uintah County — Police here say a pregnant teenager persuaded a stranger to assault her in hopes she would miscarry her baby.

"In 21 years, I have not seen anything this cold and malicious," Naples Police Chief Mark Watkins said. "It just blows me away — the total disregard for human safety and an unborn child."

Watkins said the teen, who is seven months pregnant, "solicited" a 21-year-old man whom she did not know to assault her shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

"They were just walking down the street and happened to pass each other," he said. "She wanted the baby aborted, and he decided to oblige her."

The chief declined to disclose what the girl allegedly promised the man in exchange for assaulting her.

Watkins said the girl was badly beaten, but her child survived. Police were notified of the alleged attack when the teen returned home and told her parents she had been sexually assaulted by unknown individuals.

"They brought her to the police department, and her story wasn't making sense," the chief said, adding that the teen quickly admitted to being involved in the assault.

The man was located on Wednesday by police, and Watkins said he corroborated the girl's account of the incident.

Before making any arrests, investigators met with Uintah County prosecutors to discuss possible charges.

The teen has been booked into the Split Mountain Youth Detention Center in Vernal for investigation of attempted murder. The man was booked into the Uintah County Jail, also for investigation of attempted murder.

No formal charges against the pair had been filed on Thursday.

E-MAIL:geoff@ubstandard.com">E-MAIL:geoff@ubstandard.com