PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

November 30, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Information: PolicePRUnit@slcgov.com

SLCPD Officers Arrest Two People Wanted in Sex Crimes Investigations

SALT LAKE CITY — Overnight, officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) arrested two people wanted in separate sex crimes investigations.

On Tuesday November 30, 2022, the detectives with the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Special Victims Unit (SVU) reached out to the SLCPD Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) and requested assistance locating two suspects in unrelated cases.

Officers assigned to VCAT located and safely arrested 41-year-old Keondra Rees at a residence near 2200 South and 300 East. Officers booked Rees into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on charges of Rape, Aggravated Assault, Interruption of a Communication Device, and Domestic Violence in the Presence of a Child.

Later in the evening on Tuesday, officers assigned to VCAT located and safely arrested 36-year-old James Rouse at a business near 2000 South Redwood Road.

At the time of his arrest, Rouse was on federal probation. SLCPD officers booked Rouse into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on two counts of Forcible Sodomy, three counts of Forcible Sexual Abuse, Object Rape, and Enticing a Minor by Internet or Text.

To protect the ongoing investigations and persons involved in both cases, including victims and witnesses, no additional details on the cases are being released.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Ensuring survivors of sexual assault, no matter the passage of time, receive a well-coordinated, victim-centered, and trauma-informed law enforcement response that includes advocacy and medical and mental health care is the unwavering commitment and focus of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Individuals wishing to speak with a sexual assault victim advocate can call the SLCPD’s Victim Advocate hotline at 801-580-7969.

To report a sexual assault or speak with a Special Victims Unit detective, call 9-1-1.

In October 2022, the SLCPD Chief Mike Brown and Mayor Erin Mendenhall released an update to the SLCPD  Crime Control Plan to lower crime, improve response times, fill authorized staffing levels for sworn positions and to continue building community relationships.

The strategies outlined in the Revised Crime Control Plan include expanding recruitment and hiring efforts, developing a violent criminal apprehension team, implementing the Police Civilian Response Team, expanding the department’s call diversion program and its online reporting capabilities.

VCAT is a specialty unit within the Salt Lake City Police Department responsible for combating the rise in violent crime, by identifying and apprehending violent criminals and fugitives.  This unit works under the SLCPD Special Operation Division but also works closely with the Investigations, Patrol and Data and Research divisions to identify and direct targeted enforcement of hot spot areas and areas of rising violent crime.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is not the custodian of record for jail booking photos. Utah Code 17-22-30 mostly prohibits the release of jail booking photos. Generally, a jail booking photo can only be released by the custodian of record after a conviction or when law enforcement determines the person is a fugitive or an imminent threat to a person or public safety. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of record for jail booking photos.

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