GOP Activist Accused Of Date Rape Is Found Dead, Suicide Suspected
Gregory Peterson, a GOP activist who was accused of date raping four different women, has been found dead from an apparent suicide.
The Utah native, who had bailed out of jail just four days earlier, was found in his Wasatch County cabin on Tuesday. A bail bondsman discovered Peterson’s body while checking on him because his ankle monitor signal was getting weak, Sheriff Todd Bonner told CNN. It was unclear whether a note had been left, added Bonner.
Gregory Peterson was accused by four separate women of sexual assault after luring them under the pretext of a movie or lunch.
According to prosecutors, one woman accused Peterson of keeping her in his mother’s house for several days. Another woman, whose visa had expired, said Peterson had threatened to have her deported. Authorities claimed he forced the women to engage in sexual acts by pointing to firearms he possessed. In total, Peterson was awaiting trial on 26 charges, 24 of which were felonies.
However, the criminal case has now come to an abrupt end with the discovery of Gregory Peterson’s body. Wasatch County Attorney Scott Sweat remarked:
“This has been a tragedy of a case from the beginning.”
Cara Tangaro, one of the lawyers representing Peterson, admitted to being “completely 100% shocked by the news.” She told CNN:
“If we thought he had been suicidal at all, we obviously would have taken that into account, or tried to get him help, or talk him out of bailing out. We actually felt we had a trial-able case. We were very much looking forward to getting his side of the story out there and having our day in court.”
As part of his campaigning for the GOP in Utah, Peterson has mingled with the likes of Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, Governor Gary Herbert and Jason Chaffetz, and candidates such as 4th District congressional contender Mia Love.
Peterson’s Facebook page featured several photos of him with presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Ron Paul.
