LAYTON, Utah — Layton Police arrested a man Wednesday on suspicion that he held a woman and their young daughter against their will for more than two weeks.
Jessie Leo Sosa, 37, faces felony charges of kidnapping and child kidnapping, and misdemeanor charges of violation of a protective order.
According to a probable cause statement, the woman went to Sosa's home at some point during the week of February 10 with the intention of picking up her daughter.
Sosa had violated a protective order that was filed against him for the protection of the woman and her daughter twice in the last year, the statement said.
"As the victim went to the door to get her daughter, she was observed being pulled inside and the door slamming shut," the statement said.
On Tuesday, the woman's father contacted police to request a welfare check. Officers went to Sosa's home, and Sosa told police that the woman and her daughter weren't there, the statement said.
According to police, the woman called her mother on Wednesday morning, saying she was "working things out."
The woman also sent her mother a text message that said she had an appointment with her adult probabation and parole supervisor the following day, the statement said.
"Contact was made with the AP&P supervisor who confirmed there was not appointment schedule and that the victim had disclosed abuse and fear of the defendant in the past," a Layton officer wrote.
On Wednesday, police went back to Sosa's home, where they said they found Sosa holding the girl when he answered the door.
"The juvenile victim spontaneously uttered that "mommy was hiding in the bathroom," the statement said.
According to police, Sosa admitted that the woman was in his home.
Police interviewed the woman and her daughter, who told them Sosa had kept them in the home for an extended period under threats of violence, the statement said.
"The victim specifically described that on the two occasions Police Officers responded to the residence to check on the victims, the defendant forced them to hide in the bathroom," the statement said.
