As part of the Utah Investigative Journalism Project’s ongoing coverage of gaps in support for survivors of domestic violence and lackluster law-enforcement response in some cases, Eric Peterson and Sydnee Chapman reported on the case of a man who allegedly attacked his girlfriend and kidnapped her children – after Utah prosecutors had dropped charges against him in a 2022 domestic-violence case. The man had been charged in 2022 for domestic violence, sexual assault and for running from police. But when the survivor didn’t show up to testify, prosecutors dropped all of those charges, including those for fleeing from the police, which didn’t rely on the survivor’s testimony. With support from the Fund, the reporters talked to the survivor from the 2022 case, who didn’t know the charges had been dropped. She had, in fact, testified against the man in a child-welfare case, and prosecutors could have easily reached her to testify in the criminal case.
Grantees uncover Utah domestic-violence case that was mishandled by prosecutors, leaving suspect free to commit more alleged crimes
