SALT LAKE CITY — Investigators with the Salt Lake City Police Department are now asking for victims to come forward after they arrested a man who allegedly picked up a woman near downtown and sexually assaulted her.
According to Salt Lake City police, their investigation started at around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday when a woman, who wasn't named by police, flagged down a person to report an assault. This was in the area of 100 South and West Temple.
Police say the woman accepted a ride from 35-year-old Joshua Palacios, whom she did not know, outside Salt Lake City. Once inside the vehicle, police say Palacios touched her inappropriately. The victim told police that she told him to stop and pull over, but he wouldn't, and continued grabbing her. Then after he stopped in a parking lot in Salt Lake City, he allegedly sexually touched her again.
The woman said she shoved his hand away and was able to get out of the car. She flagged down a nearby security guard, pointing out the car's license plate and said the driver was following her. That guard called police and took a picture of the driver, and officers later stopped the vehicle and arrested Palacios.
Detectives said they believe that Palacios has been involved in similar incidents before, where he picked up different women and sexually assaulted them. Anyone with information or who believes they may have had a similar encounter is asked to call Salt Lake City Police at 801-799-3000.
“They realized that there was some criminal history that matched this from Mr. Palacios," said SLCPD Detective Michael Ruff. "We believe there was at least one prior incident that was very similar to this, and if not, identical. That raises that concern of: 'Is there more cases that we’re not aware of?' So, that’s certainly something we would people to come forward and let us know if this is happening to somebody or if this rings a bell and they have some evidence that could help us.”
Palacios is facing two counts of forcible sexual abuse and one count of unlawful detention.
Anneli Robert, a sexual assault victim advocate for New Hope Crisis Center, says this kind of assault — known as "blitz assault" — is rare, but she shared how people can help when they see anything suspicious.
"Blitz sexual assault is the least common, [but] it does happen. But more often than not, the assault will be from someone that you’re an acquaintance with at least," Robert explained.
“If you see something, say something. Call the police, pull out your phone and start recording," she advised
Robert hopes society can change at the root of the problem.
“We need to teach our kids at a very young what is acceptable behavior, and hopefully as we learn more about different kinds of abuse, that we see less of this happening as time goes on," she said.
