SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 16, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A former University of Utah diver who police say fled to his home country of Canada amid a rape investigation has been arrested.
Benjamin Dennis Kai Smyth, 19, was a member of the Utah men’s swimming and diving team when a fellow student told police he raped her in her dorm room in August 2022, according to charges filed May 8 in 3rd District Court.
Smyth, of Saanichton, British Columbia, was arrested last week, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, though the circumstances of his arrest were not immediately available.
“It is our understanding that he is in custody in Seattle,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told Gephardt Daily.
Smyth faces charges of rape, a first-degree felony; forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Utah Athletics officials said Smyth, a sophomore, was suspended from all team activities Feb. 20 after they learned of the allegations.
University of Utah police say Smyth first denied knowing the woman following the accusation, then later told officers he had consensual sex with her. When officers returned days later to serve Smyth with a temporary protective order, they learned he had packed his belongings and moved out, charges state.
A private investigator later confirmed Smyth had returned to Canada and a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to court documents.
Police say the woman met Smyth while reading a book in the common area of her dorm building Aug. 16, 2022. The two exchanged contact information, and Smyth texted the woman later that night, charges state.
After the woman told Smyth she was back in her dorm room and that her roommates were elsewhere, he showed up at her door and entered her room, according to charging documents.
Smyth suggested they play a game of Truth or Dare, during which he inquired about her sexual history, the charges state.
Smyth then began kissing the woman and “pushing her shoulders to lay her down on the floor,” charges state.
The woman stated she “did not want to do that” and said “no” as he sexually assaulted and raped her, according to the charges. She also stated that she was “in pain” during the rape, charges state.
When interviewed by police, Smyth denied knowing the woman but later “acknowledged he knew [her] and had sex with her when he first met her,” charges state.
Witnesses told police Smyth “brags about the number of women that he has sex with” and also kept a list of women with whom he’s had sex, according to charging documents.
Utah Athletics officials learned of the allegations on Feb. 16 and suspended him from all team activities four days later.
“We take matters of this type very seriously, and have continued to monitor the situation,” university officials said in a statement.
Smyth has been removed from the active roster on Utah’s swimming and diving website, though meet results indicate he competed as recently as Feb. 10 at the University of Southern California. Smyth also qualified for the Pac-12 Conference Diving Championships but was dismissed from the team prior to the Feb. 22-25 meet.
During his freshman season at Utah, Smyth finished second on platform and seventh on 1-meter at the Pac-12 Championships. He also competed at the NCAA Championships on 3-meter and platform.
Smyth’s attorneys, Scott Wilding and Mark Brian, did not respond to Gephardt Daily’s request for comment.
