Alert Officer Rescues
Juvenile and Prevents Rape
On Sunday, March 9, an alert Salt Lake City Police officer rescued
a kidnapped juvenile and likely prevented her from being raped.
Officer Darren Austill was working a
part-time job near a refinery at 1200 West 1600 North. He observed an
SUV at around 4:45 in the morning. The vehicle was driving around a
park with its lights on, and then suddenly the vehicle seemingly
disappeared. This caused Officer Austill to become suspicious and try
to locate the SUV.
Officer Austill drove toward where he last saw the vehicle. As he
approached the SUV on foot, he observed two males in the back seat of
the car. Also in the back seat was a female juvenile. As he made eye
contact with her, she mouthed the word “Help” to Officer Austill.
Officer Austill ordered the occupants out of the vehicle. Further
investigation revealed that the two males kidnapped the girl from the
area of 500 North Redwood Rd and were preparing to sexually assault
her when the officer arrived. The occupants tried to convince Officer
Austill that everything was okay, but he delved further into their
story and exposed several inconsistencies. Officers developed probable
cause to arrest the two male occupants.
The two arrestees are: 25-year-old Ricardo Ruiz and 36-year-old
Gonzalo Romero. They were booked into jail for Aggravated Kidnapping
and Aggravated Sexual Assault.
Due to an alert officer’s quick actions, a child was saved from a
dangerous situation with the potential to be even more horrendous.
Members of the Salt Lake City Police Department take their obligation
to the community seriously, and are always striving to protect our
residents and visitors from predators who seek to victimize them.
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