Man jailed after alleged kidnapping, sexual assault of young girl in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 25, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A man who turned 78 on Saturday has been arrested after the alleged kidnapping and assault of a 15-year-old girl in March.

Tevita Hoihoi Mounga was jailed Friday for investigation of the following first-degree crimes: aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, two counts of forcible sodomy and three counts of object rape.

The incident was reported on March 6, the same day it allegedly took place.

The minor told Salt Lake City police “that she had been abducted and sexually assaulted by an unknown elderly man. (She) told SLCPD detectives that she was walking in the area of ​​500 North 1000 West near the Utah State Fairgrounds carrying a plate of cupcakes and an elderly man driving a truck stopped and pointed at the cupcakes. (She) said she entered the man's truck under the impression that the man wanted a cupcake.

The minor described the man who attacked her as a “wrinkled old man” who was old enough to be her “great-great-grandfather,” Mounga’s affidavit states. She reported that the man spoke either Tongan or Samoan.

The girl said the man “physically held her against her will and led her to a place that was unfamiliar to her.” The minor “said the man had a large knife in the truck” and drove her to an area near the airport, where he took her phone, turned it off and threw it out the door. truck window.

That's where the alleged assault took place, the affidavit states, adding that at that point in the interview she “became emotional and could no longer continue speaking with investigators.”

The next day, the girl's mother called police to say her daughter's phone was located near 322 N. 2200 West in Salt Lake City, the affidavit states.

On May 10 and 22, SLCPD took two reports of “an older man, possibly Hispanic or Polynesian, in a truck attracting young girls. In each case, witnesses took photos of the truck, which had a Utah license plate registered to Mounga.

The first victim was interviewed again and identified Mounga in a photograph as the man she said had assaulted her. The second victim, who said the man tried to lure her into his truck, also identified Mounga in a photo, according to his affidavit.

Mounga was ordered held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail system. He was still in custody as of Saturday afternoon.