SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A former University of Utah diver who fled the U.S. during a rape investigation has reportedly been arrested weeks after he disappeared from campus.
Benjamin Smyth, 19, was a sophomore diver at the school before he was suspended on Feb. 20 after the university was notified of the investigation.
Last week, Smyth was charged with rape and forcible sodomy, and forcible sexual abuse. A woman told police that Smyth showed up at her dorm room and raped her.
After first telling police he did not know the woman, Smyth then acknowledged he knew her and "had sex with her when he first met her."
When detectives went to Smyth's dorm room to serve him with a temporary protective order, his roommates said he had moved out. A private investigator later learned Smyth had returned to his home in British Colombia, Canada.
Details of Smyth's arrest were not made available, but he is believed to be back in the U.S.
“It is our understanding that he is in custody in Seattle,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
