A former firefighter flashed his old badge before sexually assaulting a Utah woman he had contacted through backpage.com, according to rape charges filed last month.
In April, Christopher David Scott, 35, of Saratoga Springs, contacted a woman through an ad on the website, which hosts escort ads, according to documents filed in 3rd District Court.
They met up at a motel in Salt Lake City and Scott reportedly showed the woman a badge and threatened her with jail time if she didn’t do what he told her to, charging documents state.
Then he told her to relax, ordered her to undress and raped her, charges state.
Scott had been a firefighter for a private company out of state, according to Salt Lake City police Detective Greg Wilking, who added that he didn’t know which state Scott had worked in or when he moved to Utah.
Police believe there may be more victims.
“We suspect he’s been here doing this for at least a year,” Wilking said Wednesday.
Salt Lake City police have been in contact with other women who had experiences with a man who passed himself off as law enforcement.
“If there are other victims of [Scott], we want to hear from them,” Wilking said. “We understand that they’re probably involved in the escort business, but that doesn’t matter. They’re still victims.”
After the alleged rape in April, the woman contacted police.
On Oct. 27, 2017, she told police that Scott wanted to meet her again. She set up a rendezvous, and when Scott arrived, police arrested him, court documents state.
A search of his phone revealed more people who may have been victims, an affidavit for a search warrant states.
Police also searched Scott’s car and found the firefighter badge in question, along with a laptop and phone that had evidence of sex solicitation and rape, the documents state.
Scott was charged with one count of first-degree felony rape on Oct. 31.
He is being held on lieu of $150,000 bail at the Salt Lake County jail. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 14.
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