A former Utah Valley University wrestler who was suspended from the team when he was charged with rape in 2018 has been arrested for another reported sexual assault.
Dayton Lee Racer, 23, of Orem is under investigation for rape, a first-degree felony. He has been booked into the Utah County jail, where he’s being held without bail.
UVU said in a statement that Racer is enrolled at the university, and “[i]n the interest of campus safety, he has been placed on interim suspension" as police investigate the new allegations.
According to the probable cause statement, a woman went to the Orem police station on Oct. 7 and reported she “was just sexually assaulted” by Racer. She said she met him on a dating app and agreed to meet him at his residence. When she arrived, Racer told her they would not be going out as planned because he was not fully dressed and “did not feel like going out.”
Instead, she said, Racer asked her to lie down on his couch with him and watch a movie. She agreed; Racer began to rub against her, she said, and she “asked him to stop several times.”
The woman said Racer tried to remove her pants, and she resisted. He told her to remove her pants herself, and she refused. She eventually agreed to change into a pair of shorts Racer provided, she said, but continued to rebuff his advances.
According to the probable cause statement, “Racer then picked the victim up and carried her, while she protested, into his bedroom and threw her on the bed,” where he raped her. The woman told police she “said no again and started to cry.”
The woman then “left what she described as an angry Mr. Racer and immediately drove to the police department to report” the assault.
Racer is already facing a first-degree felony rape charge. A 20-year-old woman reported that he sexually assaulted her at the Bonanza Campout Music Festival at River’s Edge Resort in Heber in June 2018. The woman told police she went to Racer's tent at the festival but told him “multiple times that she was not there for anything sexual.”
She said the two of them took the drug Molly (slang for MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy) and drank alcohol, and “the next thing she remembered was waking up” as Racer was sexually assaulting her.
Racer was charged on Oct. 15, 2018. An arraignment in that case had been scheduled on Wednesday, but it was rescheduled for Jan. 15. As of Thursday morning, charges had not yet been filed in the second case.
UVU said Racer was signed onto the university’s wrestling team for the 2018-19 seasons but was suspended before he ever put on a uniform or participated in a match.
“The university is aware of old and new allegations, but cannot comment on pending investigations,” according to the university’s statement. "Utah Valley University takes the well-being of its students, faculty, and staff seriously. We also respect the right to due process.”
