Midvale man charged with raping woman

A Midvale man is charged with kidnapping and raping a woman at a Salt Lake County plant nursery.

Eduardo Mena-Alonso, 23, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, rape and object rape, first-degree felonies, as well as forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, and aggravated assault and burglary, which are third-degree felonies.

The victim met Mena-Alonso on Dec. 9. He brought her to a nursery at 389 W. Winchester St. (6500 South), and took her inside a trailer where he tried "sexual things" with her, though she told him no, according to the charges.

She struggled against him and pleaded that he let her leave as he disrobed her and sexually assaulted her, the charges state. She grabbed a sprinkler pipe and hit him with it, but he took it and tried to strangle her with it, the charges add.

She was eventually able to open the trailer door and screamed for help. He grabbed her jacket and tried pulling her back inside, but she got away, according to the charges.

A man who was working nearby told police that he heard the woman screaming and saw her running toward a fence, which she climbed over to get away from a Latino man who ran away when he saw that the bystander was helping her. The man then called police.

The owner of the nursery and trailer told investigators that Mena-Alonso did not have permission to be on the premises.

Mena-Alonso's criminal history in Utah only includes a guilty plea in January to misdemeanor unlawful consumption, according to a courts record check.

mmcfall@sltrib.com