A St. George man has been charged with raping a woman he met through the social app Tinder. Samuel Heber Butler, 21, was arrested by Dixie State campus police Wednesday night, and is now charged with rape, a first-degree felony. He was being detained in the Washington County Jail, but managed to post $20,000 bail Thursday evening.
Police received a report on Jan. 10 that a rape had taken place in an apartment near the campus during the previous evening. The woman told officers that she had met Butler on the dating app Tinder, and the two had agreed to meet. She went on further to tell investigators Butler had been upfront about his desire for sex, that she had declined his advances, but had still agreed to meet up for coffee. When he came to pick her up he began kissing and groping her, despite her protesting. Butler then allegedly forced her onto a mattress, overpowered her, and raped her.
Butler has an initial court date set for May 1.