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A 62-year-old Sandy man accused of beating, raping, and trying to drown a woman who was renting a room from him, as well as kidnapping and attacking another woman at his home, has resolved both cases with a plea deal.
Vratislav Roger Bilek was charged in 3rd District Court with 11 felonies, including aggravated kidnapping, rape and aggravated assault, for the alleged attacks last year.
On Wednesday, Bilek pleaded no contest to a single count of second-degree felony kidnapping and all other charges were dismissed.
The inability of prosecutors to locate the two alleged victims ahead of Jan. 4 trial date was a factor in the resolution of the case.
Judge Bruce Lubeck suspended a potential one-to-15-year prison term, and instead placed Bilek — who has been in jail since September 2014 — on probation for five years. Probation conditions include that Bilek have no "female overnight stays" without approval by probation officers.
Earlier this month, prosecutors unsuccessfully asked Lubeck for a continuance of the trial, based on their inability to find the two women, despite the issuance of material witness warrants for both.
Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Nathan Evershed said Wednesday that it was "a tough case," in part because the women's addiction to drugs and transient lifestyles.
One woman was initially cooperative with police, but refused to testify at a preliminary hearing. The other woman was cooperative, but it was not guaranteed that her prior testimony — which contained inconsistencies — could be used at trial, Evershed said.
With the plea deal, "we get something," he said
On Aug. 9, 2014, one of the women — naked, bleeding from her nose and covered with small cuts and bruises — turned up at a home near 600 East and 10800 South claiming she had been held hostage at the home next door for two days, according to charging documents.
The woman told police that Bilek had provided her methamphetamine, but then began to attack her — choking her on three occasions, and punching and kicking her in the face and body, according to charges.
The woman said that as a "shock factor," Bilek showed her a black handgun.
Bilek kept the woman in his basement for seven to nine hours, but then allowed her to go upstairs by herself for a drink of water, according to charges. Despite being naked, she unlocked the front door and fled, according to charges.
In the case of the second alleged victim, a woman showed up on the porch of a home near Bilek's at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2014, calling for help.
The woman, who had numerous visible injuries on her body, told police she had been kidnapped and physically and sexually attacked by a man who had offered to rent her a room.
Bilek punched her in the face and began to choke her, according to charges, then allegedly forced her face into a filled bathtub.
Bilek later showed her a gun and raped her with multiple objects, including the handle of a sledgehammer, according to charges.
The woman ultimately escaped through a back door.