Provo man charged with sexually abusing woman at Orem recreation center

OREM – A Provo man is facing multiple felony charges after he entered an Orem recreation center and sexually assaulted a woman.

Marcos Garza-Lopez, 19, was charged Tuesday in 4th District Court with rape and aggravated kidnapping (first-degree felonies), two counts of sexual abuse (second-degree felonies), aggravated assault and burglary (third-degree felonies), and lewdness (class B misdemeanor).

On June 19, Garza-Lopez entered the Orem Family Fitness Center, 575 W. Center Street, despite not being a member, and “walked past the gate where he was asked to scan a card and entered the locker room,” according to charging documents. “Surveillance (video taken later) shows him loitering in and around the locker room for the next three hours.”

A 32-year-old woman entered the locker room and Garza-Lopez “approached her and asked for help showering in his locker room,” the indictment states.

The woman followed him into a family dressing room, where he physically and sexually abused her, according to the indictment. She fought back twice, once “elbowing him in the ribs until she was able to break free from his grip.”

Garza-Lopez left the facility and rode away on his bicycle while the woman went to the front desk for help. He was found and arrested in Provo on Friday.

In a separate case, he was charged Monday in 4th District Court with stalking, a third-degree felony, charging documents show, for his actions toward a former partner.