SALT LAKE CITY — A GOP activist who prosecutors say kidnapped and raped women whom he met online and at church functions has been arrested and charged with 23 felonies.
He appears to have targeted mostly LDS adult women.
Gregory Nathan Peterson, 37, of Orem, was charged Wednesday with seven counts of rape, three counts of object rape, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, nine counts of forcible sexual abuse, forcible sodomy, assault, burglary and sexual battery.
Investigators have identified four victims dating back to March of 2011. Peterson met three of the victims on an online dating site and another at a church function, according to the charges.
On his dating profile, in which he used the profile name, "oddsrgoodbutgoodsrodd," Peterson stated that he had a LDS temple recommend and served a mission to Venezuela and also noted in his profile that he "regularly attends church."
"I have an open heart and an open mind, and I've been told that the best relationships on here come when the girl initiates contact with the guy," he wrote. "I have open heart to all situations and circumstances, so long as you want to have a family and bring that family back to God."
On March 26, 2011, a woman told police she met Peterson at a church function in Draper and agreed to go to a movie with him. As they began driving, however, Peterson went in a different direction than the movie theater. He told the woman he was taking her to his cabin in Heber, the charges state.
When the woman told him to turn around, police say he told her he had a concealed weapons permit and pointed to the car's console.During the drive, Peterson forced the woman to commit lewd acts and "smacked her across the face" for not doing one correctly, the charges state. He again allegedly "smacked her in the face with his backhand" at the cabin. The woman later told police at that point "she did not want to get hit again and did anything the defendant told her to do."
Peterson pointed out loaded weapons in the room and raped the woman and held her in the cabin overnight, according to the charges.
On July 2, 2011, prosecutors say Peterson arranged to go to a movie and dinner with another woman he met online. He allegedly drove the woman from Sandy to his cabin in Heber City against her will. Peterson displayed a handgun in his car and threatened to have the woman deported because of an expired visa if she did not cooperate, the charges state.
A third woman said she met Peterson online and went on a lunch date with him on Dec. 11, 2011. When he arrived at her West Jordan residence, he assaulted her, court records state.
On April 21, 2012, a fourth woman who met Peterson online also had a lunch date with him. Prosecutors say Peterson pushed the woman into the bedroom of her Salt Lake home and attempted to assault her.
Another woman emailed the Deseret News saying she, too, was contacted by Peterson on LDSSingles.com.
"We talked a couple of times. The first time he seemed normal. The second time he creeped me out. He asked me my bra size and started talking about his sex life with his ex-wife.
"These cases show a clear pattern of Mr. Peterson working to win his victims' respect and trust in a deeply conniving way," said Holly Mullen, the center's executive director.
