A 49-year-old lady in Utah who previously worked for the state Attorney General’s Office has publicly pleaded misconduct after being captured on video pulling down a young girl’s skirt inside a crowded restaurant earlier this year because she thought the 19-year-old’s garment was too short. The video of the incident became popular on social media, with over 1.2 million views on TikTok.
On Tuesday, Ida Ann Lorenzo stood before Fifth District Court Judge Jay T. Winward and pled no contest to one count of misdemeanor sexual battery, according to Salt Lake City ABC station KTVX. Lorenzo specifically admitted to “knowingly and intentionally” touching “the buttocks of another person under circumstances she should have known would cause affront or alarm.”
According to a compromise negotiated with prosecutors, Lorenzo’s plea will be held in abeyance for one year, which means the court will not enter a judgment of conviction. The case against her will be withdrawn if she does not breach any laws in the following year, completes a mental health evaluation, and maintains no contact with the victim.
If Lorenzo fails to comply with the terms of the arrangement, the court may accept her guilty plea and sentence her to up to 180 days in jail.
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According to KTVX, Winward did not sign the plea agreement on Tuesday, but he made no indication that he rejected it.
According to the station, Lorenzo had only recently started a new work as a legal secretary with the Utah Attorney General’s Office when she was arrested. Lorenzo lost his job the day after she was arrested.
As previously stated, the tragedy occurred on April 20, 2024, at the Sakura Japanese Steakhouse in St. George, Utah, approximately 300 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The tape from that day, which begins shortly after Lorenzo reportedly tugged the adolescent’s skirt, shows the older woman defending her actions and even chastising the teen and her friends for their dress.
“I happen to work for the state, and if I have to watch your a-cheeks hanging out again, I will call CPS (Child Protective Services),” Lorenzo says in the video.
Lorenzo continued to justify her conduct when speaking with investigators about the incident on April 22, according to body camera footage acquired by Law&Crime.
When asked why Lorenzo thought it was appropriate to approach and touch the victim, she tells the investigator that she just touched the teen’s skirt. She stated that she intended to pull it down to hide the victim’s “butt cheeks.”
Lorenzo also claimed that she initially tried to advise the victim that her skirt was too short but was rejected, so she decided to “take action” to protect the victim by “covering up her private parts.”
“I got a standing ovation from everyone that was seated behind me,” Lorenzo tells the detective.
“That’s totally beside the point,” the detective says. The victim, who interviewed with police on April 23, along with numerous others who were present during the incident, informed the investigator that Lorenzo did not approach her until she felt “someone’s cold hands” on her skin, which she mistook for one of her friends. She stated that she was astounded to discover that it was the hand of a woman she had never met.
The young victim also told the detective that she was wearing “shorts and underwear” at the time, which contradicted Lorenzo’s assertion that her private parts were visible.
On April 24, Lorenzo is seen at the police station speaking with the same detective about the incident.
During the conversation, the detective informed Lorenzo that she was being arrested and charged with sexual battery due to the allegations leveled against her and the existence of camera footage of the encounter.
“You’re arresting me?” A stunned Lorenzo may be heard saying.
Lorenzo is then handcuffed and led to the rear of a squad car parked just outside the station. She was booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane, Utah, and released shortly after posting bond.