The jury trial for a New York man charged with a felony after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on an Amtrak train in Tooele County has been pushed back.
Elijah S. Pineiro-Zucker, 19, of Woodstock, is charged with first-degree felony object rape.
During an Oct. 9 pretrial conference in 3rd District Court, a second preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 20 before Judge John Mack Dow, as the victim’s testimony has not been recorded yet, according to court records. The final pretrial conference is now scheduled for Jan. 8 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Matthew Bates.
The jury trial, originally slated to begin on Oct. 31, will instead start on Jan. 16 at 9 a.m. and run for three days.
At the Oct. 9 pretrial conference, Pineiro-Zucker’s bail was reduced to $25,000 bondable and court records indicate he bailed out on Oct. 11. His bail was originally set at $100,000.
Utah Highway Patrol was dispatched to the Salt Lake City Amtrak station on reports of a sexual assault at around 3:30 a.m. on May 18, according to a probable cause statement. The train conductor told troopers a male passenger, later identified as Pineiro-Zucker, had assaulted a woman on the train.
It was reported the assault occurred as the train was traveling about 10 miles east of the Nevada state line, according to the statement.
The victim was taken to the hospital and then was interviewed by investigators in the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, the statement said. During the interview, detectives learned the victim was engaged in a conversation with another passenger near a bathroom on the train and Pineiro-Zucker grabbed her by the waist, trying to get her to go into the bathroom with him.
The victim said she refused and went to an upper deck on the train and sat down, according to the probable cause statement. Pineiro-Zucker sat next to the victim and started to grab her and rub her thigh, and she pushed him away, the victim said.
The victim said Pineiro-Zucker was able to get his hands under her pants and she began to cry, the statement said. Another passenger witnessed the incident and reported it to a train conductor, who came to her aid.