- The incident occurred last month in the lobby of a St. George restaurant.
- Utah legal secretary charged with sexual assault after confrontation
- The 19-year-old victim told police she felt “violated” by the woman’s actions.
A Utah woman who was charged last month with sexual assault after pulling down a teenage girl’s skirt at a restaurant has been fired from her job at the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
Newly released court documents reveal that Ida Lorenzo, 48, was fired from her relatively new position on April 25, the same day she was accused of sexual assault.
Lorenzo was captured on video at a crowded restaurant in St. George, Utah, pulling on another woman’s skirt and telling her to be careful about “what she was showing, especially with small children around,” according to a police affidavit. police.
During the 36-second viral video, the young woman’s friends can be heard telling Lorenzo: ‘You can’t touch her.’
Ida Lorenzo was charged with a Class A misdemeanor after the skirt-pulling incident on April 20 in the lobby of Sakura Japanese Steakhouse. A TikTok video of the altercation, filmed by one of the victim’s friends, later went viral.
Lorenzo also appeared to flash a badge and said, “Turns out I work for the state,” while threatening to call child protective services.
Local law enforcement authorities say that the day after the incident occurred, Lorenzo called 911 to report harassment related to the unpleasant encounter.
On the 25th she was charged in Fifth District Court with sexual assault, a class A misdemeanor.
KSL local point of sale reported that, according to records released Wednesday through a public records request, Lorenzo’s employment with the Washington County state attorney general’s office ended the same day she was charged.
The documents noted that she had only been on the job for about six weeks, after the office hired her on March 4 as a legal secretary.
Lorenzo was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane and released after posting bail. He is seen here seconds before his arrest.
The termination letter reportedly reads: ‘I am writing to inform you that you have not successfully passed your probationary employment period and today, April 25, 2024, you will be separated from state employment in the Attorney General’s Office.
‘Your failure to comply with performance-related policies and standards contributed to this decision.’
According to police documents, on the night of the alleged assault, Lorenzo approached the young woman and pulled down her skirt while telling her to “be aware of what you were showing, especially with small children around.”
‘This caused all the people who were with her to accuse (Lorenzo) of sexually assaulting the female,’ read the police records.
Lorenzo told authorities that she “never” touched the other woman and had simply “touched the woman’s skirt.”
An officer told him he had still “behaved criminally by touching the woman’s clothing and that his behavior was not appropriate.”
The incident took place at Sakura Japanese Steakhouse in St. George, Utah, on April 20.
Following the incident, the teenager contacted police to report that she had been “sexually assaulted while in the lobby” of the St. George restaurant.
The woman (Lorenzo) had ‘confronted’ her ‘while her back was turned, and without warning, or formal warning, she felt cold hands move up her skirt, touching her buttocks before feeling her skirt being pulled.’ according to police records.
The young woman said she felt “startled” and “violated” by the encounter.
Lorenzo is scheduled to appear in court in June.