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TAYLORSVILLE — A South Salt Lake man accused of abusing a 13-year-old girl while allegedly claiming sex with teen girls is common in his culture is now facing 32 felony charges.
Yerwin Lenier Bolivar Canelon, 20, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with eight counts of rape of a child and five counts of sodomy on a child, first-degree felonies; and 19 counts of sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began in Taylorsville when a mother contacted police in November, saying her 13-year-old daughter had been molested.
The girl told detectives she met Canelon in August and began communicating with him on TikTok and Instagram, according to charging documents. He then began picking the girl up and they engaged in sexual activity in his car and apartment, the charges state.
"The victim disclosed that she told Yerwin that she was 13 years old, and he responded that he wasn't worried because it's common in his home country for older men to have a relationship with young girls," the affidavit alleges. Charging documents further state that Bolivar allegedly said, "In his home country ... it was not uncommon for couples to ignore age even though one person may have been a minor."
When located and questioned by police, Canelon allegedly said the girl originally told him she was 16 but later admitted she had lied. Still, he continued having illegal sexual contact with the girl and "showed no remorse for his actions as his justification was that it was normal," the affidavit states.
In Venezuela, sexual activity with 13-year-olds is illegal.
