"Jane Doe" - 6 yo - West Valley City UT

Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies and West
Valley police are investigating a report of a bleeding child found in a
West Valley neighborhood.
Investigators say the girl is believed to be 4 or 5 years old
and was found in the area of 3800 South and 7100 West in the back yard
of a home where she does not live. A teenage neighbor apparently heard the girl crying, saw her, and he and his parents called police.
West Valley City police Lt. Dalen Taylor said, "When the officers
responded to the scene they found the young lady in the backyard of
this residence behind us. She'd obviously been assaulted. She was
having a hard time talking to us so, at this point, we don't have a
whole lot of information of where it occurred or exactly what
happened."
The girl was transported to Primary Children's Medical Center in serious condition.
Investigators have found the girl's home, which in walking
distance of the home she was found at. They are talking to parents but
are not sure if the parents knew if the girl was missing.

A West Valley City neighborhood is reeling
after a shocking act of violence against a little girl. Police say she
is 5 or 6 years old and someone assaulted her.
The girl was taken to the hospital in serious condition. West
Valley police say they have no suspects in the assault. They're not
going into detail about her injuries and are still investigating if
this was a sexual assault. The girl was found in the backyard of a home in her neighborhood, but
the crime scene spans two homes: the first, where the little girl was
found; the second, just over the fence where a neighbor heard her
crying.



"A teenager actually heard her crying, looked over, saw a little girl
who'd clearly been assaulted," said Lt. Dalan Taylor, spokesman for the
West Valley Police Department.
The teen called his parents, who then called 911 and told him
to go next door and get Shelley Rodriguez, a nurse. Rodriguez's husband
stayed with the girl until police arrived. "He was back there talking to her, not moving her, patting her on the head … talking to her, got a blanket," Rodriguez said.
Neighbor Stephanie Warr also got a call from the teenager's parents,
who asked her to go over and help. She says the little girl was lying
in weeds, drifting in and out of consciousness.
"It was evident that it had recently been done," Warr said.
Warr describes her as a friendly little girl with responsible
parents. She's seen her walking down the street to a friends' house
before.
"When she's walked by, she's had Barbies. And we've teased her we want to play with her Barbies," Warr said.
The girl was taken to Primary Children's Medical Center in
serious condition. Friday night, detectives interviewing her and
neighbors are left with a troubling question. "How could anybody do that to her?" Warr said.
Investigators are questioning anyone who may know anything. If you
think you have any information that might be helpful to them, contact
the West Valley Police Department at 801-840-4000.

A West Valley City girl who was found
assaulted and bleeding in a neighbor's backyard Friday was released
from the hospital Saturday.
West Valley Police say they've decided to leave her and her
family alone this weekend to give them a chance to calm down. They plan
to re-interview her on Monday.
Friday afternoon a West Valley City teenager told police he
heard crying in his neighbor's backyard. He looked over the fence and
saw the girl, who was bleeding and lying in weeds.
He then called his parents who called 911. Meanwhile, other
neighbors rushed to help. They say the child was drifting in and out of
consciousness.
Don Bullock is the father of that teenager. He said their
hearts go out to the little girl, and that the past 24 hours have been
very difficult.
"West Valley police have to do their job and took us all in. It
was an ordeal to be uptown and treating him as the number one suspect
instead of the hero that found her and got that little girl the help
that was needed, so it's just been a traumatic time," he said.
West Valley police were on scene all day and into the night
Saturday, going over the crime scene with a black light and taking
photos
They've interviewed dozens of people in the neighborhood. They
say the little girl lives within walking distance of where she was
found.
Neighbors say they often see her walking to a friend's house with Barbie dolls in hand.
Neighbors describe the mood as tense. They want to see the
person who assaulted this little girl caught and they're watching their
children carefully. Even when that person is caught and prosecuted, neighbors we talked to
said they still don't think the sense of safety and security will ever
return to this neighborhood.

Poster's Note: The girl was originally reported as being 5 years
old. It has since learned that she is actually 6 years old.

Police in West Valley are still investigating
the assault of a 6-year-old girl*. On Friday, a teenager found her
bleeding in a neighbor's backyard. On Monday, the girl's grandfather says she was choked during
the assault. He did not want to be interviewed on camera but said his
granddaughter is doing better, considering what happened to her.
The grandfather says the 6-year-old told her family she walked
to her friend's house on Friday, but her friend wasn't home. Moments
later, she says she was lured into a backyard, but doesn't remember
anything after that.
The grandfather did say, the girl was choked and that she passed out.
Police have not commented officially whether the child was
sexually assaulted, nor would they discuss whether they have a suspect
in the case. Even so, police believe the suspect targeted the girl as
his victim.
"It's tragic. It's very tragic. As parents, that's something
that is a worst nightmare," said West Valley police Lt Coyle. "It's a
bad situation, and that's why we're doing everything we can to ensure
the public's safety at this point." When a criminal case involves a young child, Coyle says investigators are more sensitive about what information they release.
"There's always a need to be concerned, especially when it comes to the
safety of children, but the detectives are doing the best to their
ability, right now, to ensure the public's safety," Coyle said.
People who live in the neighborhood are waiting for some
answers. Many of them say their feelings of safety and security in
their own neighborhood have been shattered.
"I have a 14-year-old daughter who walks home from school, and
I think that's going to change," said neighborhood resident Tod Levie.
On Friday, a 17-year-old boy who lives in the neighborhood
heard the girl crying as he mowed the lawn; she was behind a neighbor's
fence. He called his sister, and then they called their parents, who
then called 911.
Over the weekend, the teen's parents told KSL their son was interviewed by police. They say he should be considered a hero, not a suspect.

There are new details in the case of a
6-year-old girl assaulted and found bleeding in a West Valley backyard.
Police have arrested the 17-year-old who reported finding the girl
while he was mowing his lawn.
The mother and father of the girl confirmed to KSL the
17-year-old teen was arrested Monday afternoon, based on what their
daughter told police happened to her on Friday. The girl's father said he wants people to know that the boy is not the
hero he has been portrayed to be. He also said he wanted justice for
what happened.
On Friday, the teen, who lives in the neighborhood about two
streets away, told police he heard the girl crying while taking a break
from mowing the lawn. He said she was behind a fence.



We spoke to the neighbor who owns the property where the girl was
found. She told us that the girl was lying on the ground with her pants
down, regaining consciousness when she arrived to help.
We have since learned from the girl's grandfather that she was
choked and assaulted. The girl's father said she was bleeding from a
missing tooth.
West Valley police will not confirm or deny the arrest of the
17-year-old boy, even though the victim's family confirmed it, and
neighbors reported to us that he was taken away in handcuffs yesterday
afternoon.
Over the phone, police said any information provided to the
media at this point might jeopardize the investigation and their next
step was to meet with the district attorney's office about the case.
To give you an update on the 6-year-old girl, her parents say
she is back in school. They say they are trying to get her back into a
routine that is comfortable for her. They say she is a shy but smart
girl and she is doing well.

The 17-year-old boy credited with finding a
girl who had been assaulted has been arrested for the crime. West
Valley City police Capt. Anita Schwemmer told KSL the teen was booked
into juvenile detention facility Monday afternoon.
The mother of the victim, who did not want to be identified,
said she didn't know the suspect, but her daughter was able to give
police a physical description of the suspect.
"I just want everyone to know that she's doing great." Mother of 6-year-old girl who was assaulted on Friday.



"We're very proud of her. It's taken her a couple of days to even talk
to anybody about what had happened, and she's doing really good," the
mother said. "I just want everyone to know that she's doing great."
Life is slowly moving forward again for the 6-year-old girl and her family.
On Friday, the girl walked to her friend's house, down the
street. Her friend wasn't home. The girl told her parents when she
started to leave, the 17-year-old boy next door approached her. The girl told her parents the teen asked if she was looking for her
friend, and then said her friend was in his backyard. She followed him.
The girl's parents said their daughter hasn't talked about what
happened next, but she had scratches on her neck and bruises on her
arms and legs. There was also blood from a loose tooth that fell out.
The parents said the girl was found with her pants pulled down and there was evidence the teen tried to sexually assault her.




"We just hope that he is brought to justice," the girl's mother said.
Several neighbors saw police take the 17-year-old away in
handcuffs Monday. A woman named Shelley, who lives next door to the
teen, said she was saddened but also relieved.
She said, "My grandkids have been over here. They've been very
frightened. They've been staying in the backyard and in the house, so I
think the neighborhood will be more relieved that it's ended."
On Friday, the teen told police he was mowing the lawn when he
heard the girl crying over the fence. The homeowner showed us the spot
where she lay on the ground, barely conscious.
"I'm a little angry that he left her there, that he tried saying that he had found her," the girl's mother said.
On Saturday, the teen's father said police interviewed the boy,
who he said has special needs. But he said his son deserved to be
recognized for finding the girl and getting her help. The teen's father, Don Bullock, said, "Luckily, the little girl got the
help that she needed, but there is somebody out there that needs to be
found that did this to this girl."
KSL contacted Bullock on the phone Tuesday, and all he said was, "No Comment."
Police say their next step is to meet with prosecutors.

A 17 year old accused of luring a little girl into a yard and assaulting her is facing several felony charges.

A probable cause statement released Monday afternoon says the 6 year
old girl was walking to her friend's house when the teenager told her
that her friend was in his backyard.
When she went back there,
court papers show he chocked her and she lost a tooth during the
struggle. The documents say then the boy sexually assaulted her.

After the attack, court papers show he threw the girl over the fence
and didn't think she was breathing until she was on the ground in the
other yard. Police say that's when he told his mother he found the
hurt child while he was mowing the lawn.
Charges against him include aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, sodomy and aggravated sex abuse of a child.

The teenager first heralded as a hero, is now
charged with kidnapping, sexually abusing and assaulting a 6-year-old
West Valley girl.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office charged the 17-year-old Monday and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The teen initially told investigators that on Sept. 11 he heard
the girl crying while taking a break from mowing his lawn and saw her
bleeding on the other side of his fence. He then told his sister and a
neighbor.
The neighbor found the girl unconscious and bleeding. She
eventually opened her eyes, but was going in and out of consciousness.
She was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center in serious condition
but has since been released.
But according to charging documents, during a second interview
with West Valley City police, the teen admitted to luring the girl into
his backyard, pushing her to the ground and choking her until she was
unconscious. He said he choked her because he, quote: "wanted her to
sleep or something." Prosecutors say the teen then sexually assaulted the girl before throwing her over the backyard fence.
Charing documents say the teen had bloody scratch marks on his mouth
and neck and a cut on his right knee. They also say the teen confessed
to detectives, saying, "Tell the little girl I am sorry for what I did
to her."
Investigators spoke to the teen again early last week and shortly after his father spoke to KSL News.
"It's been traumatic, you know? West Valley police have to do
their job and took us all in. It was an ordeal to be uptown treating
him as the No. 1 subject instead of the hero," Don Bullock said then.
He also indicated both his son and 16-year-old daughter are mentally challenged.
After the teen was arrested last week, the girl's parents said they want him tried as an adult.
"He is most definitely not the hero. He is the suspect," the girls mother said. "We just hope that he is brought to justice."
Prosecutors say they could ask the juvenile court judge to bind this case over to adult court.