Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Robert M. Reins faces multiple felony charges in connection with a violent attack.
- He is accused of beating, sexually assaulting and setting a man on fire in Draper as the victim walked to work.
- The victim identified Reins in a photo lineup, leading to his arrest.
DRAPER — A homeless man is facing several criminal charges after prosecutors say he committed "unconscionable violence and depravity" against another man at random as the victim was walking to work — beating him, sexually assaulting him and setting him on fire.
Robert M. Reins, 52, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies; forcible sexual abuse and three counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury or loss of consciousness, second-degree felonies; and aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
About 11 p.m. on Sept. 30, a man told police he was walking from a TRAX station in Draper along 700 East to his job at a fast-food restaurant on 12300 South. The man passed a grassy and wooded empty lot when he was startled by a deer and yelled something. Moments later, Reins approached him and told him to repeat what he said, according to charging documents.
The man told Reins he didn't speak English and kept walking, but Reins again repeated to the man to "talk in English," the charges state. The man continued walking when Reins "attacked him from behind" and put him "in a chokehold move with one arm while holding a knife in his opposite hand. (The victim) experienced dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision and difficulty breathing before losing consciousness."
Reins then dragged the man into the field between two trees "and once there, Reins kicked him in the back of the knee, which made (the man) lose his balance and fall to the ground," according to the charges.
Reins got on top of the man's back so he could not escape, sexually assaulted him and punched him in the head so he was knocked out, the charges allege. When the man regained consciousness he "discovered he was on fire." The man "suffered several injuries, including burns to his head and neck region as well as on his back" that "were determined to be first- and second-degree burns, which covered less than 5% of his body … and is still recovering from his assault," the charges state.
On Dec. 31, while at a gas station in Draper, police say a homeless man "approached them, acting erratically and threatening violence." The man resembled Rein's description and he was taken into custody. On Jan. 8, a photo lineup was conducted with the victim who positively identified Reins as the man who attacked him, according to the charges.
