39-year-old man charged after allegedly raping 17-year-old girl

RIGBY — A 39-year-old man was charged with rape after he reportedly forced a 17-year-old girl to have sex with him.

Gerald John Clawson was charged with felony rape.

On Feb. 27, Rigby City Police responded to a report of an alleged rape that occurred at a home.

The victim, who was 17-years-old at the time, and her relative, stated that on Jan. 28, she was raped by Clawson, a man known to the victim’s family.

The relative told officers he and Clawson had been drinking that night, and the relative went to bed around 11 p.m. or midnight. He stated Clawson would often go downstairs and hang out with the minors in the home.

He told officers on that night, the victim “didn’t want to be around (Clawson) when he was over at the house,” which he thought was weird, according to police reports.

During a forensic interview at the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center, the victim said she was used to Clawson coming downstairs to play video games, but this time was “different.”

The victim says he didn’t ask to play video games, and around midnight or 1 a.m., when she was lying in bed, she remembers Clawson opening the door, walking to her bed, and touching her inappropriately.

Clawson allegedly “placed all his body weight on her to the point she couldn’t move her upper body.”

Court documents say she asked him to stop repeatedly, but Clawson continued to sexually assault her while covering her mouth. Eventually, the victim says she was able to kick Clawson in the genitals, and he got off of her.

The victim says she asked Clawson, “Why would you do that?” He allegedly responded he “didn’t know and didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

The victim says she left the room and “tried to forget what happened.”

The next morning, the victim says Clawson was still at the home and was “commenting on what she was wearing,” according to police reports.

Clawson allegedly returned to the home the following weekend, and “kept looking at (the victim’s) body and kept making gestures.”

The victim says Clawson kept coming downstairs acting weird and making jokes about rape while making “humping-like gestures” toward her and another minor girl in the home.

During the forensic interview, the victim said Clawson texted her about the rape afterward, asking her, “On a scale of 1-10, how good was it, be honest.”

On Aug. 22, officers called and spoke with the victim’s relative about a phone conversation with Clawson in July.

The relative said Clawson “admitted to doing things but claims he did not force it.” According to the relative, Clawson said he “did not know how to make this better.”

Clawson agreed to interview with police, during which officers say he was “failing to maintain eye contact, picking at his nails, and was short in his responses.”

When asked how he knew the victim’s family, Clawson reportedly stated he was not going to answer any more questions without a lawyer.

Later, the relative of the victim showed officers a text message he received from a relative of Clawson, advocating for him.

“I know a lot is going on in your situation, and I’m sorry that it happened,” says the message. “But I will tell that in the 17 years that I have known (Clawson), I know what he is and what he isn’t. A rapist is not what he is.”

The message continues to support Clawson, but saying what he did was wrong.

“What he did is not okay and I get that whole heartedly but that man has never been in trouble his whole entire life,” says the text message. “You guys are amazing and the truth will come out when it’s necessary.”

A warrant was issued for Clawson’s arrest, and he was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on Jan. 10 with a bond of $50,000. He posted bail and was released the same day.

Clawson is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing in Jefferson County on Feb. 8. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Though Clawson has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.