Cedar City Police arrest man accused of sexually abusing 3 girls

Stock image | Photo by Chalabala/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

CEDAR CITY — A man was arrested Tuesday on multiple charges of sexually abusing three juvenile girls.

Jared Beasley was arrested on 18 counts of sexual abuse against juveniles, Cedar City, March 3, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St George News / Cedar City News

Jared Duain Beasley, 36, was charged with six counts of first-degree felony sodomy on a child, three counts of second-degree felony sexual exploitation of a minor, six counts of second-degree felony sexual abuse on a child and three counts of class-A misdemeanor sexual abuse of a minor.

Cedar City News was able to confirm the details of the probable cause statement with the Cedar City Police Department, which indicates several allegations against Beasley. He is accused of sexually abusing three girls multiple times over a number of years.

According to the statement, Detective Matt Topham received information about inappropriate interactions between Beasley and three juvenile girls, including inappropriate touching and text messages.

Topham executed a search warrant after further investigation and collected several electronic items as evidence, on which he found multiple images of child pornography.

Beasley reportedly admitted to several instances of sexual abuse against the girls in an interview with police.

Sgt. Clint Pollock told Cedar City News no additional information could be released at this time.

Police Chief Darin Adams said he is proud of the work done on the case.

“I could not be more proud of our investigators, especially Detective Topham,” Adams said. “He’s always thorough and he’s a really a true champion for these kids, as are all of my detectives. We’re grateful that he was able to work hard to investigate this and bring some justice.”

Adams added it is becoming increasingly important for parents to have “courageous conversations” with their children.

“Sometimes they’re awkward and uncomfortable,” Adams said. “But its important they start at an early age to talk about boundaries and inappropriate touching, and the permission — if you will — for these children to say no when they’re uncomfortable and to report it to parents. That is becoming more and more critical.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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