Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Wes Clarence Max Rhodes, 39, faces charges for a 2022 sexual assault.
- Rhodes was linked to the crime through DNA evidence collected from the victim, charges say.
- He was previously convicted in 2023 for enticing a minor in an online sting.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A South Salt Lake man on probation after being convicted in an undercover sting in 2023 has now been linked to the sexual assault of a teenage girl the year before.
Wes Clarence Max Rhodes, 39, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies, and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
In August 2022, a 16-year-old runaway girl told police that a man offered her a ride. But after getting into the man's car and driving for a bit, he stopped and climbed on top of her, according to charging documents.
"Rhodes then asked her, 'Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?'" the charges allege. The girl says she "submitted to him out of fear" and was sexually assaulted in the back seat.
The next day, the teen got a sexual assault examination and DNA evidence was collected.
Several months later, in 2023, Rhodes was arrested during an online sting operation involving federal, state and local police who teamed up during the NBA's All-Star Game in Salt Lake City to crack down on online predators. He was arrested after arranging to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Rhodes was convicted of enticing a minor and was sentenced to probation in August of 2024, nearly a year after the alleged assault of the 16-year-old girl. As part of his sentence, he also had to submit a DNA sample for being a convicted sex offender.
A match between Rhodes' DNA and the DNA from the unknown attacker in 2022 was discovered in February of this year, according to charging documents filed on Tuesday.
"The defendant, in this matter, took advantage of the victim, who was in a vulnerable state. The defendant offered the victim a ride to which she accepted," prosecutors summarized in the charges. "Lab results determined the defendant was a contributor to swabs taken during her sexual assault exam."
