Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Alex Gabriel Barajas, 22, is accused of sexually assaulting three students at Utah Tech University.
- Barajas faces multiple charges, including rape, aggravated burglary and witness tampering.
- Police identified Barajas through surveillance video and arrested him after the assaults.
ST. GEORGE — A former Utah Tech University student is accused of entering student housing on campus and sexually assaulting three female students in 45 minutes.
Alex Gabriel Barajas, 22, of St. George, was charged Tuesday in 5th District Court with three counts of rape and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies; five counts of burglary, a second-degree felony; three counts of witness tampering, a third-degree felony; trespassing, a class A misdemeanor; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
On Friday, at about 3:20 a.m., Utah Tech University police were called to a student housing complex near 1000 E. 100 South in St. George where a female student was awakened by a man who was not wearing pants and was holding her down, according to a police booking affidavit.
"(She) was able to push him off and he got up and got dressed and told the victim, 'Please don't call anyone, I'm drunk,'" the affidavit states.
While responding to that call, police received a 911 call from a second female student who said "she awoke in her bed to a naked male subject in her bed holding her or 'spooning' her from behind," according to the affidavit. The man ran from the apartment while again stating, "Please don't call anyone, I'm drunk."
Police reviewed surveillance video and discovered the man had also entered two other apartments. While checking on the welfare of the people who lived in those apartments, officers discovered a 17-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted, the affidavit states.
"(She) said she did not know the male subject and absolutely did not consent to sexual activity. (She) pushed the subject off and told him he was not supposed to be there," according to the affidavit.
Through further investigation, police were able to identify that man as Barajas, a former student, the affidavit states.
"We found on (surveillance video) that Alex snuck into the building at about 2:30 a.m. and made his way to the fourth floor which is only for female students. Alex walked the hallway and began checking the entrance doors to almost all 16 apartments," police stated in their affidavit.
Police also learned that, after the alleged assaults, Barajas "had approached some other male students and asked them for a ride, stating he needed to get out of town," the affidavit states.
When located and questioned, Barajas said he had been at a party that night at the student housing complex and later lied to police when initially contacted by phone "because he needed some time to recollect his memory before speaking," according to the affidavit.
Barajas was arrested after refusing to answer additional questions without an attorney present.
"Alex has shown he is a danger to society and women by sneaking into a student housing complex and attacking three young women in the course of 45 minutes," police wrote in their affidavit while requesting he be held in jail without the possibility of posting bail pending trial.
