- Dylan Upshaw, 25, sentenced to six years to life in prison for child rape.
- Upshaw pleaded guilty to rape in a plea deal that dismissed two other first-degree felonies.
- The man was arrested for investigation of murder in early 2023, but prosecutors found claims he was acting in self-defense credible and did not file charges.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Sandy man was ordered to spend six years to life in prison after admitting to having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.
Dylan Upshaw, 25, was sentenced on June 19 after pleading guilty to rape of a child, a first-degree felony, as part of a plea deal that dismissed two charges for sodomy on a child, also a first-degree felony.
According to charging documents, the girl reported that she got a Snapchat message about hanging out with a friend at a Salt Lake County motel, and when she arrived there she met Upshaw, a man she had purchased marijuana from previously, but not her friend.
The girl reported she and Upshaw "smoked weed and chilled" while waiting for her friend, and he asked her if she was single; she responded that she was single, but she was not interested.
She told investigators Upshaw gave her a pill, and she passed out and later woke up with Upshaw on top of her with his pants off, and she kicked him and told him to get off of her but he continued assaulting her, charges report. She went to the hospital, and DNA collected at the hospital matched Upshaw.
The sexual assault occurred in March 2022; at that time he was 21. Third District Judge Adam Mow gave him credit for the over three years he has spent in jail on the charges since he was charged in February 2023.
Charges were filed in this case almost two months after Upshaw was arrested for investigation of murder after Xavier Bernal was shot during an altercation at the Redwood Apartments in West Valley City, but the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office decided not to file any charges against him.
According to a letter dated Jan. 11, 2023, from the district attorney's office sent to West Valley police, Upshaw claims he was acting in self-defense, and prosecutors could not prove otherwise at that time. The letter said based on multiple statements, Bernal was likely engaged in an armed robbery at the time and was the one who brought the gun, and Upshaw was defending himself.
