ST. GEORGE — A 38-year-old California man was arrested Wednesday after traveling to Utah for the reported purpose of engaging in sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl. The man also allegedly had plans to meet two 14-year-old girls in Colorado.
On Monday, Jason Reed Akers, 38, of Ontario, California, began communicating over the internet with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, according to a statement issued by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. However, that person was actually an undercover investigator with the Utah Valley Special Victims Task Force.
“Akers described actions he desired to take with this person and arranged a meeting at a public location in Utah County on April 19,” Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said in a statement. “After he arrived there Akers was arrested by detectives.”
During the course of the investigation, detectives found methamphetamine, marijuana, spice, drug paraphernalia and a handgun, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“Detectives also discovered that Akers had made arrangements to meet two 14-year-old girls in different locations in Colorado,” Cannon added. “Law enforcement officials there are investigating this information and additional charges may be coming.”
Akers was booked into the Utah County Jail on a second-degree felony count of enticing, soliciting, seducing or luring a minor by internet or text; five third-degree felony counts of enticing, soliciting, seducing or luring a minor by internet or text, dealing in harmful materials to a minor, and possession of firearm by a restricted person; two class A misdemeanor counts of possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana in a drug-free zone; and class B misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Akers bail pending trial was set at $50,000 cash-only.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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He must not know. If you wanna have sex with 13 year olds here in Utah, you gotta bring a Mormon bible and say you live in Colorado City. The “authorities” will look the other way.
Once again, you’ve got to be an f-LDS mormon if you want to get away with this sort of thing in Utah. Makes you wonder about that Hildale/Co city police force that that polygamist sympathizer utah federal judge refused to disband–what to wonder is how many sex crimes against children (and adults) were reported to them that they either ignored or actively buried or hid (or actively intimidated victims?)
As far as this case: the only real way to prevent this sort of thing is parents actively monitoring kid’s internet usage, and kids are sneaky with hiding it. I have a feeling there’s a lot more predators of this type out there that can ever be caught. It’s a predatory crime of opportunity–not enough police to lure them all in, because it actually takes huge amounts of time and manpower just to set up a single meeting like this one, and to prosecute it
*than can ever be caught
One creeper taken out is better than none though. I think these type of stings are awesome, haha sicko! Two 14 year olds out of harms way for the time being..
What’s the big deal? This is usually called a marriage in Utah.