Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that a Third District Court judge sentenced Miguel Angel Bernardino to ten years to life for sexually assaulting a woman he offered to give a ride from a bus stop.
On November 23, 2016, the victim-survivor, M.W., was sitting at a bus stop near 3300 South and 900 West when the defendant pulled up, and M.W. asked him for a ride to a TRAX station nearby. The defendant said he would, but when M.W. got in his vehicle instead of driving toward the station, the defendant made a U-turn and drove in the opposite direction. He told M.W. he would take an alternate route due to traffic, but then turned behind a business near 900 West. There, he violently, physically, and sexually assaulted her. The defendant then drove a short distance and threw M.W. out of his vehicle into the snow. M.W. then called 911 and was taken to the hospital, where a sexual assault examination was conducted.
DNA from the exam was sent to the Utah State Crime Lab. A DNA backlog delayed testing, but when testing was conducted, it identified a male profile from vaginal swabs, which was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). On May 6, 2020, the State Crime Lab notified law enforcement that the defendant was a match to the DNA profile.
On February 25, 2026, a Third District Court jury found the defendant guilty of one count of first-degree felony rape, one count of first-degree felony forcible sodomy, and one count of class B misdemeanor assault. The jury found the defendant not guilty of one count of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping.
On Thursday, April 2, 2026, a Third District Court judge sentenced the defendant to:
5-life for one count of first-degree felony rape
5-life for one count of first-degree felony sodomy
6 months for one count of class B misdemeanor assault
The rape and sodomy sentences will run consecutively to each other; the assault charge will run concurrently to those sentences.
“We appreciate the bravery of the victim-survivor. She, after years of waiting for justice, bravely took the stand to hold her rapist accountable for his despicable actions, attacking and assaulting a woman simply asking for help. We appreciate the judge giving consecutive sentences, ensuring the defendant is kept behind bars and away from our community for a decade,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We appreciate the work of our prosecutors Danna Radford and Chris Alberico, as well as our investigator Jennifer Gober, and Social Worker Amy Kershisnik, for their dedication to this case. We appreciate the diligence of the detectives at the South Salt Lake Police Department.”