University of Utah student-athlete charged with rape

SALT LAKE CITY — An arrest warrant has been issued for a student-athlete at the University of Utah who allegedly kept a list of the women he had sex with, and who police say fled the country after he learned he was the subject of a rape investigation.

Benjamin Dennis Kai Smyth, 18, of Saanichton, British Columbia, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with rape and forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.

Smyth was a member of the U.’s diving team and was on scholarship at the time of the assault, according to charging documents.

In August, a woman was in the common area of her dorm when a group of men, including Smyth, walked by. Police say Smyth and the woman exchanged numbers and, a short time later, he contacted her.

Smyth went to the woman’s dorm room and forced her to engage in sexual activity and eventually raped her, despite the woman’s attempts to push him away and telling him ‘No,’ the charges state.

When questioned by University of Utah police, Smyth initially denied even knowing the woman, then admitted he had “sex with her when he first met her,” according to the charges.

He allegedly also told police that “he has had sex with many women for their first time” and provided officers with the names of two people who could speak to his character. The first person police spoke to, however, stated that Smyth “always brags about the number of women he has sex with” and that he “keeps a list of women he has sex with and shares the list with people to show off and ‘feed his ego,'” the charges allege.

A second character witness told police that he knew about the list and said Smyth was arrogant when talking about the number of women he has had sex with, according to the charges.

A few days after interviewing Smyth, an officer attempted to serve him with a temporary protective order. But when police went to Smyth’s dorm room and talked to his roommate, they were told that Smyth had “cleaned out all his belongings and moved out. Days later, (the officer) received a call from a private investigator who stated that Smyth, who is a Canadian citizen, returned to Canada after learning that he was being investigated for the rape,” the charges state.

Prosecutors say the totality of the evidence and circumstances “demonstrates Smyth is sexually motivated to add to his ‘list.'” They have requested Smyth be held without the possibility of posting bail once he is taken into custody, noting that “(the woman’s) account of the events was substantially corroborated by Smyth, apart from the element of consent. Smyth’s account of what occurred that night only came after he first denied knowing (the woman) or meeting her. Moreover, after learning of the allegations against him, Smyth left school and returned to Canada.”

The University of Utah Athletics Department released a prepared statement on Tuesday, that said, “On Feb. 16 we were made aware of a serious allegation involving a member of our men’s swimming and diving program. Upon being notified by the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity of a pending investigation, Ben Smyth was immediately suspended on Feb. 20 from all team activities. We take matters of this type very seriously, and have continued to monitor the situation. We will not have further comment as this matter proceeds through the legal process.”