ST. GEORGE — A Washington City man has been charged with multiple first-degree felonies in connection with a report of the sexual abuse of child that was forwarded to detectives from a school resource officer working at one of the middle schools in St. George.
A Washington City man, Leonard Devon Phister, was charged with five first-degree felony charges, including four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and one count of sodomy. He also faces one misdemeanor charge of lewdness involving a child.
Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News the charges were filed following an investigation that was opened approximately two weeks ago after the adolescent disclosed to a school resource officer that she was sexually abused by a family member when she was 11 years old.
The resource officer works at one of the middle schools in St. George, Williams said, who then reached out to the Washington City Police Department and the information was sent to the detective division for follow up.
During an interview at the Children’s Justice Center, the girl reported being sexually abused by the suspect on more than one occasion, telling officers the suspect touched her inappropriately and committed other sexual acts.
During an interview with police, the suspect allegedly admitted to touching the child on three occasions, and also told officers he exposed himself to the girl while sexually abusing the child on at least one occasion.
The suspects works as a long-haul truck driver, Williams said, and the incidents reportedly took place during a number of the trips he made as part of his job.
Following the interview, the suspect was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and three charges were initially sent to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review, including one count each of sodomy and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, as well as the lewdness charge.
When the charges listed in the probable cause statement were filed the following day, the decision was made by county attorney’s to add three additional aggravated sexual abuse charges – bringing the total number of first-degree charges to five.
Moreover, the sexual abuse charges were enhanced to aggravated offenses since the suspect is related to the child and held a position of trust.
On Friday, Phister made an initial appearance before District Judge Eric A. Ludlow who ordered that his bail remain at $25,000 during the hearing held in 5th District Court via video.
Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.