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VERNAL — A 36-year-old Vernal man was charged Friday with raping a child and three others are also suspected in the attack which police say occurred while the child's mother allegedly smoked meth with a friend in another room, according to charges filed Friday.
Larson James Rondeau, 36, of Vernal, is charged in 8th District Court with rape of a child and sodomy on a child, both first-degree felonies, for the alleged incident involving a 9-year-old girl.
On March 27, the girl and her mother visited the home of a friend the mother had met in jail, court documents state. The girl later reported she had fallen asleep on a couch inside the home at 1088 S. 2000 West and was awakened, taken into another room and sexually attacked by four men in the home. The men allegedly performed multiple sexual acts on her.
The girl's mother allegedly told police she was smoking methamphetamine with her friend in the garage nearby at the time. She told investigators her daughter "appeared to be upset and only indicated she wished to go home."
The woman said she saw the girl's dress "was pulled up past her waist," court documents state. Two days later, the woman said she talked to her daughter again, at which time the girl said she was raped. The girl spoke with police later that day.
The other three men in question, whom the girl was not able to identify, were visiting the Vernal home for just a couple of days and have been "travelling to the state of Montana on personal business," Rondeau allegedly told police.
No other charges had been filed in the case as of Friday. The girl's mother has also not been charged.
Rondeau, who was being held in the Uintah County Jail, has no prior criminal history in Utah, court records show. His initial hearing is scheduled for scheduled for Wednesday in 8th District Court.
