Utah man charged with 22 felonies for kidnapping and sexually assaulting partner

A Utah man, Andrew Thomas Pegoretti, 26, faces 22 first-degree felony charges for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting his girlfriend over several years. The charges include aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping, forcible sodomy, and rape. Police responded to a sexual assault report, with the victim stating Pegoretti controlled her communications, clothing, and phone after she moved in. She alleged assaults began in 2021, including strangulation, and that he once locked her in a car after faking an emergency, taking her belongings and saying she would never leave. The victim said she felt like a "sex slave" and tried to be a "good hostage" to earn freedom. She saved money from a job he allowed her to get, buying a burner phone to contact friends for help. Pegoretti is held without bail.