RICHFIELD—A court hearing for Brent Neil Brown, the man accused of kidnapping, assaulting and raping 19-year-old Snow College student Madelyn Allen, has been postponed until Feb. 7.
Brown’s attorney and public defender Michael Labrum appeared in a video conference before 6th District Court Judge Wallace Lee and requested more time to gather evidence in discovery.
Brown, 39, appeared from the Sevier County Jail, where he has been held since his arrest in Loa, Wayne County, on Dec. 20. Brown wanted to ask the judge one question: “Your honor, what is the holdup getting the discovery to my attorney?”
Judge Lee responded that he was not sure.
Then Brown’s attorney intervened and said he had been working with the prosecutor’s office on that issue and he would speak to his client about it outside of court.
Judge Lee set a preliminary hearing and detention hearing for Brown on Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. He will be held in jail without bail.
Brown has been charged with four first-degree felonies of rape, object rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault; he also faces aggravated assault and obstruction of justice, both second-degree felonies.
Brown is accused of meeting Allen, 19, on a phone app and taking her from her Snow College dormitory on Monday, Dec. 13 to his parents’ home. Allen allegedly left the Snow campus with Brown voluntarily. But over the next 24 hours, the encounter became non-consensual.
Allen went missing for several days and police eventually were able to identity her location from a text message.
On Saturday, Dec. 18, a large contingent of officers conducted a door-to-door search in Loa, about 90 miles south of Sanpete.
According to court records, police observed a person with light-colored hair and a small build through the basement window in a house. The description fit Allen, who is 5-foot 1-inch and weighs 95 pounds.
It turned out the house where Brown lived was owned by his parents. The probable-cause statement says officers got permission from the parents to search the house, and shortly after entering, saw Allen’s Snow College I.D.
From there, the officers searched the basement, where they found the missing young woman in a coal storage area. She was unclothed and covered in coal.
The probable-cause statement says after being read his Miranda rights, Brown offered to talk to officers. He admitted tying Allen up during the day while he was at work, which he described as a bondage role play. He described having sex with her multiple times.
The probable-cause statement quotes Allen as telling officers Brown always had a large knife around his waist. He is 6-feet tall and 250 pounds, and she said she knew he could overpower her. According to the probable-cause, she told the officer that Brown forced her to remove her clothes and did not permit her to get dressed again during the five days she was at his house.
She told officers she did not want to have sex with Brown. She also said on one occasion he choked her and covered her face and mouth with his hands.
The probable-cause statement describes multiple instances where Brown threatened or frightened her. At one point, he told her the police were no longer looking for her. Another time, he told her that if she heard anyone in the house, she should hide, or she would face consequences.
Once she heard people on the main floor of the house, after which Brown came downstairs, told her to hide in the coal bin and covered her with coal.
After rescuing Allen on Saturday, Dec. 18, officers took her to a local hospital for evaluation and then returned her to her parents.
