A 30-year-old Tooele man made his first appearance in 3rd District Court Tuesday for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl more than a year and a half ago.

Bruce Jason Spencer is accused of raping the girl once in August 2007 at the victim’s Erda home, according to a probable cause statement. Tooele County Deputy Attorney Gary Searle said Spencer was dating the victim’s sister at the time the crime occurred.

The Tooele County Attorney’s Office filed first-degree felony rape charges against Spencer back in September 2007, following an investigation by the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecutors issued a $75,000 warrant for his arrest, but officers were never able to execute it.

The warrant was left outstanding until mid-January of this year, when Spencer surfaced after allegedly committing theft and forgery in Salt Lake County and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. He is currently serving a year for previous attempted forgery charges, and awaiting trial for the new charges.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Spencer was appointed a public defender to represent him and bail was set at $100,000 cash-only.

He will appear in court next on March 17.

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com