Utah Republican activist facing rape charges found dead after jail release

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Utah Republican activist facing rape charges found dead after jail release
By Jennifer Dobner
Reuters
9:29 p.m. CDT, October 24, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - A Utah Tea Party activist and Republican fundraiser charged with more than two dozen felony counts of rape and sexual assault has died from an apparent suicide just four days after he was freed from jail on bail, his attorney said on Wednesday.

Greg N. Peterson, 37, was found dead in his remote Heber City-area cabin, in the mountains about 50 miles east of Salt Lake City, by two bail bondsmen late on Tuesday, defense lawyer Cara Tangaro said.

An initial investigation indicates Peterson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Wasatch County Sheriff Todd Bonner said at a news conference Tuesday night. The death remained under investigation.

The cabin was the site of Peterson's annual Rocky Mountain Conservative BBQ - an annual summer fundraiser initiated in 2010 for Republican Party luminaries, including presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and the state's governor, Gary Herbert.


Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-suicide-utahbre89o055-20121024,0,2466146.story

[Judi Lynn]

1. Greg Peterson, GOP activist charged in sex abuse cases, discovered dead in cabin

Greg Peterson, GOP activist charged in sex abuse cases, discovered dead in cabin
By Pat Reavy, Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, Oct. 23 2012 7:16 p.m. MDT



HEBER CITY — Greg Peterson, a businessman and GOP activist charged with raping or abusing five women, was found dead Tuesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the cabin where many of his alleged assaults took place.

His death comes just four days after his release from the Salt Lake County Jail after he met his $2 million dollar bail requirement with the help of a bail bonding company.

"This has been a tragedy of a case from the beginning and there's been nothing good about this case all the way through," Wasatch County Attorney Scott Sweat said Tuesday night.

Peterson, 37, had been ordered to stand trial on 25 charges, including 10 counts of forcible sexual abuse, seven counts of object rape, three counts of rape, and one count each of aggravated kidnapping, forcible sodomy, burglary and sexual battery. A preliminary hearing was also scheduled in Wasatch County on a separate but similar case involving a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by Peterson.

More:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865565110/GOP-activist-charged-in-rapes-discovered-dead-in-cabin.html?pg=all

[caseymoz]

11. A GOP scandal to beat all.

Funny this didn't receive more attention sooner, until I realized how much the press in Salt Lake City wants Romney to win.

I'm a somewhat disgusted by the slant on this story. They make it sound like Peterson is tragic. No, what he did to those women-- that was tragic. It's a different thing if someone commits suicide because of depression or pain. That gets my sympathy, but he committed suicide because he calculated that death was better than prison. All I can say there is, it's not a decision that most scumbags would make, but he was probably right. I can't understand anybody finding any sympathy for that.

"Greg always maintained his innocence and was confidant that had a jury been presented with the entire case, he would have been acquitted. Greg felt an enormous pressure from the media and their one-sided and inaccurate reporting of this case which villianized him from day one," the statement said.

This reminds me of Jerry Sandusky's final trial statement. Call me skeptical, but how do you put together a frame up with five different women in five difference incidences?

This was an atrocity in the war against women.

[Loudly]

2. The "good" use of a gun in this instance matters not.

Guns and ammo do not belong in the hands of the public.

A length of rope and a sturdy overhanging pipe, beam or other tie-off point would have served the purpose just fine, and without any danger to others.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

15. See? Now this is the kind of thing that pisses me off...

Don't you realize that someone has to patch the hole in the wall or ceiling and scrub everything down and repaint. Then the carpet has to be replaced. I mean, really, it's not like they can just clean it. It no doubt soaked through the padding so it's gonna all have to come up and new carpet and padding put in. Think of the tradesman jobs that would be lost, not to mention the sales figures on new carpet and paint. Seriously. What's the worse that happens when someone hangs themselves? Okay, the body relaxes and they soil their undies. Big deal.

[greiner3]

28. Slow down dude;

You're burning up your keyboard.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. Hmmm...a case for trickle down economics.

I see your point.

[Nostradammit]

3. Wow. Things that make you go, "hmmmmmmm..."

This from the article:

"Peterson had no known medical history that put him at risk for suicide and had not displayed any signs that he was in distress, Tangaro said."

He was up on more than two dozen felony counts of rape and sexual assault and hadn't displayed any signs that he was in distress?!

That's one cool cucumber.

I'll bet he had some stories to tell about those BBQ's.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

4. Good!!!! 2 for the price of 1!

[MADem]

5. Wow. A friend of Mitt's, too.

I guess they won't be holding any more GOP BBQs at that little cabin....I'm guessing that place might be a tough real estate sale, too, given the fact that the guy killed himself there.

[Nostradammit]

7. The facebook page for the most recent BBQ:

http://www.facebook.com/events/190253321079916/


"Stephanie G Salazar Too bad we could not get Josh Romney to come "
May 17 at 1:09pm



Too bad, indeed.

[riverwalker]

24. featuring "Conservative Comedy Acts"?

trying to imagine this....they are all such humorless, hatefilled death mongers.

Upgraded catering, professional Conservative Comedy acts, musical acts

,

[Nostradammit]

30. PROFESSIONAL Conservative Comedy acts!

Mild Abrasive
Military Intelligence
Recent History
Pretty Ugly
Jumbo Shrimp
Freezer Burn
Constant Change
Bitter Sweet
Soft Rock
Concrete Pad
Original Copy
Random Order
Tough Love
Thunderous Silence
New Antiques
Congressional Action
Old News
Strong Decaf
Cold Sweat
Small Crowd
Awfully Good
Short Distance
Safety Hazard
Clearly Confusing
Silent Scream
Creative Destruction
Totally Partial
Sweet Sorrow
Rolling Stop
Green Consumerism
Genuine Imitation
Deafening Silence
Almost Exactly
Approximately Equal
Real Fantasy
Farewell Reception
Mute Sound
Good Job
Plastic Glass
Alone Together
Civil War
Peace Keeper Missile
Found Missing
Industrial Park
Marijuana Initiative

[lexw]

38. eeeek!

What is creepy, is following and reading some of the links to other FB pages from the BBQ FaceBook page.

[Judi Lynn]

8. After seeng your post I had to go look for a photo of the two:

The photo won't transfer, so you might want to click on this link:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/general-political-discussion/131087-striking-seiu-workers-intentionally-endangered-ct-nursing-home-patients-w-103-a-10.html

[center]



[/center

[MADem]

17. Priceless tagline on that top picture at the link...

Here's the GOP rapist thug schmoozing with Mitt Romney....


All that wood and stone--that must be the cabin where he held his BBQs and did the deed.

[wordpix]

32. Mittens travels with such a nice crowd, rapists & those who force women to carry rapists' babies

T-baggers are now being shown for whom they really are

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. "place might be a tough real estate sale, too, given the fact that the guy killed himself there."

What, like he's gonna haunt it?

[MADem]

18. Often, a death--particularly a suicide--lowers the sale price and makes a place harder to sell.

It's all down to the sensitivities of the PURCHASER--their belief system or level of squeamishness will determine if they can "get over" knowing that the last owner was a rapist who killed himself right where Little Susie's play table might go.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

19. Those are the types that think their cars have mood swings.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. That sucks.

I wanted to see this fucker convicted.

[DCKit]

9. Sucks for U.S., (very) convenient for his handlers. nt

[AtheistCrusader]

37. Exactly. Now they can disavow.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Tea party activist struggled after sex case arrest

Tea party activist struggled after sex case arrest
SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press
Updated 4:27 p.m., Wednesday, October 24, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tea party activist Gregory Peterson once hosted some of Utah's biggest Republican names at a barbecue at his Wasatch County cabin. Among them were U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, Gov. Gary Herbert and Mia Love, the up-and-coming mayor of Saratoga Springs who is locked in a dead heat to unseat six-term Congressman Jim Matheson.

Peterson was a regular at GOP functions as the creator of the Rocky Mountain Conservatives group. He held fundraisers and even organized a debate between two GOP candidates for Utah attorney general.

It all came crashing down in July, when he was charged with sexually assaulting women at the cabin. On Tuesday, he was found dead there in what authorities called an apparent suicide.

~snip~

"He's always maintained his innocence, and we felt like he was excited to be out and to be able to work with us on preparing his case," she said. "Quite frankly, this is the last thing we expected."

More:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Tea-party-activist-struggled-after-sex-case-arrest-3979034.php#ixzz2AIM8Dl6n

[StarryNite]

11. Such a shame...

NOT!

[Ford_Prefect]

13. I suspect he may have had "help" from those who worry that he might share information.

The current GOP regime has a dark history of those who might expose uncomfortable facts succumbing to suicidal thoughts. He would not be the first to be so assisted.

[TahitiNut]

20. Color me suspicious as well. Trials have an annoying tendency to reveal

.... "uncomfortable" facts. It'd be naive in the extreme to not believe that more than one GOPher is breathing an immense sigh of relief. This is a "suicide" that's far too convenient to be accepted on superficial face value.

[2pooped2pop]

31. yes, this wasn't another double shotgun blast to the back of the head

suicide was it? Can't remember who that was with those circumstances but it did happen.

[Suji to Seoul]

14. Goodbye, scumbag! Enjoy Hell, or wherever pieces of shit like you reside

His suicide proves to me he was guilty as sin.

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Are all the GOP having problems with boundaries?

They can't seem to live and let live

respect the opinions and attitudes and ways of life of others

Can't leave existing laws alone, that includes Social Security,
Medicaid, Medicare, etc

Can't leave Healthcare reform alone

Have to tinker with medical care and rape coverage in many states

Have to violate any pristine ecosystem to drill for oil - can't they
drill elsewhere, in an inner city?

And some have become so extreme they can't seem to leave
women alone

Is it all about boundaries? Political, crusading, cultural narcissists
who are so convinced of their own righteousness that no
boundary is inviolable, sacred, respected unless they redraw
the line?

Boundaries and narcissism go hand in hand

[noamnety]

22. god's will. (nt)

[independentpiney]

23. good nt

[riverwalker]

25. but his raping women was "God's will"...n/t

[msanthrope]

26. I'm guessing he wouldn't get on a small plane? (That's the paranoia-before-coffee talking.) nt

[damnedifIknow]

27. Ahhh yes.

Those Republican family values.

[Rain Mcloud]

29. Little known stuff here that may or may not apply.

[link:http://www.mormonstruth.org/sex_slaves_for_top_lds_.html|

[wordpix]

33. "she does not believe Peterson's apparent suicide should be interpreted as an admission of guilt"

Of course--- everyone accused of FIVE crimes who is innocent will want to kill himself instead of working like hell to clear his name.

[aquart]

34. I want to thank the deceased for not taking anyone with him.

I appreciate the gesture.

[RVN VET]

35. I agree. A very thoughtful guy at the end.

He saved the State the money it would cost to try, convict, and incarcerate him.

But I'd really like an outside investigation of the crime scene. It may be called suicide, but you never know. Cui bono? Romney and the GOP get the story off the front pages in Utah and elsewhere before the election. It becomes a "tragic" (wtf?) suicide instead of a stream news stories covering a trial about vicious and sadistic assaults on women perpetrated by a friend of Mitt, Orrin, and others in the GOP hierarchy.

Just sayin'