Tooele man charged with abusing stepdaughter for eight straight years

A 51-year-old Tooele man suspected of raping a child approximately 70 times over the last eight years made his first appearance in 3rd District Court Tuesday.

Royce Moser, 51, was charged with 16 first-degree felony counts of rape and sodomy of a child, and two third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault.

According to a probable cause statement, Moser began sexually abusing his stepdaughter in 1999 when the victim was 8 years old. The alleged abuse occurred in Tooele, Magna and even in warehouses where Moser, a trucker, would make deliveries. The abuse was reported to have worsened over the years and did not stop until 2007, just after the victim's 16th birthday.

Moser was taken into custody March 7 after police responded to a domestic dispute the day before that involved Moser trying to run over his wife and stepdaughter with a car. Moser's wife reported to police that she had just found out Moser had been sexually abusing her daughter. Moser fled the scene on foot, but was later found a C-A-L Ranch taking a handful of pills, according to the probable cause statement. Following an overnight hospital stay, Moser was booked into the Tooele County Detention Center.

Judge Mark Kouris set Moser's bail at $1 million.

Moser will appear in court next on March 18.

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com