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Champion bodybuilder turns himself in on Utah rape charges

(Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office via AP This photo provided by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office shows Shawn Rhoden. Rhoden, a champion bodybuilder faces felony charges accusing him of raping a female bodybuilder in a Salt Lake City suburb last October. Court records indicate that Rhoden appeared in court Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in a Salt Lake City suburb and had his bail lowered to $250,000 before being sent to jail. An arrest warrant issued July 11 had set his bail at $750,000. )

(Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office via AP This photo provided by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office shows Shawn Rhoden. Rhoden, a champion bodybuilder faces felony charges accusing him of raping a female bodybuilder in a Salt Lake City suburb last October. Court records indicate that Rhoden appeared in court Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in a Salt Lake City suburb and had his bail lowered to $250,000 before being sent to jail. An arrest warrant issued July 11 had set his bail at $750,000. )

By  The Associated Press
 | July 23, 2019, 9:48 p.m.
| Updated: 10:01 p.m.


A champion bodybuilder accused of raping a woman has turned himself in after an arrest warrant was issued earlier this month.

Court records indicate Shawn Rhoden attended a court hearing Tuesday in a Salt Lake City suburb and was booked into a county jail. He remained behind bars Tuesday afternoon. His bail was lowered to $250,000, down from $750,000 in the July 11 arrest warrant.

The 2018 winner of the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition in Nevada is charged with rape and forcible sexual abuse of a woman who regarded Rhoden as her "body-building mentor" in a Utah hotel room on Oct. 12.

A judge ordered the 44-year-old from Santa Barbara, Calif., not to have contact with the woman.

Rhoden’s attorney, Lawrence Sleight, didn’t immediately return a phone call.


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By The Associated Press