After a three-day trial an Iron County man was found guilty on multiple felony charges related to forcible sodomy, rape, object rape, and forcible sexual abuse of a former coworker.
A jury found Miguel Angel Leon Gomez, 28, guilty on the four charges that included three first-degree felonies and one second-degree felony. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred in October, 2021 at a dairy in Iron County, where both the victim and the defendant were employed.
The victim recounted in court arriving at work before dawn that morning and going into a shed to wait for daylight to come. While inside, the victim said Gomez, who was then her coworker, entered the shed and initiated physical contact despite her protests.
During her testimony, the victim detailed attempts to fight off Gomez’s advances but said he would not stop. Following the assault, the incident was reported to a supervisor, resulting in Gomez’s termination from the dairy.
Gomez left Iron County immediately following the incident at the dairy. Subsequently, Iron County Sheriff’s Detective Thomas Byrd led an investigation that led to Gomez’s arrest in Jerome, Idaho in January 2023, nearly two years after the incident.
During an interview with the Jerome City Police Department, Gomez initially denied knowledge of the allegations but later said he and the victim had engaged in consensual sex. His defense used this argument during trial, claiming the defendant and the victim had had an ongoing relationship for several months prior to the incident.
The prosecution, represented by Iron County Prosecutors Trajan Evans and Shane Klenk, however, presented evidence supporting the victim’s account of the events. Based on this evidence, including testimony and medical examinations, the state argued that the sexual interaction was not consensual.
“These types of cases are the most difficult to prove,” said Iron County Deputy Attorney Trajan Evans.
After three days of trial and several hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously found Gomez guilty on all charges. The sentencing phase of the trial is scheduled for June 4.
“I was co prosecutor on this case but Shane did the real work. It was only because of him and the victim that we won today,” Evans said. “This was a long process from 2021 to 2024 and the victim showed nothing but resilience and courage through this whole thing. As a result, justice was finally served after all this time.”