Utah man accused of raping lesbian woman and saying it would “fix the gay”
The suspect "told her he was going to fix the gay" when the woman said she didn't like men, according to police documents
A Utah man has been arrested after allegedly raping a lesbian woman and telling her it would “fix the gay.”
Adam Quinn Atwood, 34, is accused of object rape, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, forcible sexual abuse, and forcible sodomy, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Prosecutors are determining if the alleged assault will also face hate crime charges, which would enhance the penalties should Atwood be found guilty.
According to court documents, the woman told police that the alleged attack occurred while she was visiting her friend in Salt Lake City.
The friend and her husband, Atwood, had been drinking, the woman said. The friend eventually went to bed, leaving the woman with Atwood.
Once they were alone, he tried to sit “closer and closer” to the woman, she told police, and though she wanted to leave she said Atwood persuaded her to accompany him to a nearby store to buy beer.
She claims that upon returning to the home, Atwood pulled up her shirt and “began touching and grabbing her,” according to a police affidavit.
When she told him to stop he allegedly asked “if she was sure she didn’t like it” and “if she was sure she was gay.”
When she tried to leave, she told police that Atwood grabbed her neck and threw her down the stairs into the basement.
Trying to prevent the alleged attack, she said she told Atwood to think of his wife and children in their beds upstairs, and reminded him that she is lesbian. He allegedly responded that he was “going to fix the gay.”
She told police that he then proceeded to choke and sexually assault her.
The woman was able to escape and “made it to her vehicle and as she locked the doors the suspect ran up to the car and yelled, ‘You better not tell anyone,’” according to the police affidavit.
The woman told her roommate what had occurred once she was home, and then later contacted the police to report the alleged assault.
According to the affidavit, the woman “submitted to a sexual assault examination which documented several injuries that are consistent with the victim statements.”
According to police, Atwood said that he “did not rape anyone” while being arrested. He is being held at Salt Lake County Jail on $150,000 bond.
Utah updated its hate crimes legislation last year to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Should a hate crimes enhancement be added to Atwood’s charges, both kidnapping and forcible sexual assault would be upgraded from second degree felonies to first degree, increasing the penalties they incur.
All other charges are first degree felonies, and would potentially carry harsher penalties should a hate crimes enhancement be added.
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