This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A jury has convicted a man of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman.
After several hours of deliberation Friday afternoon, the jury found Lonnie Norton, 51, guilty on most of the charges filed against him.
Norton was convicted on two counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault, one count of second-degree felony kidnapping, and one count of second-degree felony burglary. The jury also found him guilty of two misdemeanors: assault and violation of a protective order.
They also found him not guilty on two charges: an additional aggravated assault charge and misdemeanor damaging or interrupting a communication device.
Norton's sentencing is scheduled for April 7 before 3rd District Judge Bruce Lubeck. First-degree felony convictions carry a potential life sentence.
Charging documents allege that on Nov. 11, 2012, Norton broke into the home of a woman he knew, duct-taped her head and mouth and forced her into his vehicle at gunpoint. He allegedly drove her to a building at the University of Utah campus, where he removed the duct tape and then pointed a handgun at her. He allegedly threatened to kill her and then kill himself.
The woman also told police that he had sex with her against her will in the campus building. Norton was the director of College Computing for the College of Humanities at the time of the alleged assault.
Norton then took the woman to his residence, she said, and after a few hours, he drove her back to her residence in Sandy, where she called 911.
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