Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Aug. 23, 2023 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
A 41-year-old man was arrested and booked into the Millard County Jail on Aug. 15 and charged with first-degree felony rape.
Edward Eugene Hicks was taken into custody after a woman claimed the man sexually assaulted her during a date up to Fillmore Canyon on Aug. 6.
In the early morning hours on the day of the incident, deputies responded to a call about an injured woman in Fillmore. When first responders arrived, the victim was on the ground screaming in pain and going in and out of consciousness.
“The female had a baseball size goose egg on the back of her head,” the arresting deputy reported in a probable cause statement filed in Fourth District Court. “At this time, the female could not answer any questions regarding what happened.”
But later, a sexual assault nurse at Fillmore Community Hospital contacted deputies and let them know a rape kit was performed on the woman. The victim, however, refused to provide the evidence to police until a few days later, when she decided to tell her story.
“She stated that they had been drinking alcohol. She stated at one point she remembers laying on an ATV and saw him on top of her,” the probable cause in the case reads. “She stated she told Eugene “No” twice, but he continued.”
The victim was not sure how her head was injured, deputies report.
When deputies contacted Hicks, he confirmed he had been up the canyon with the victim on Aug. 6.
Hicks is scheduled to return to court for a waiver hearing this week. He is currently being held at the county jail without bail.
