ST. GEORGE — A suspicious person call on River Road late Monday night led to the arrest of a St. George man wanted for failing to register as a sex offender and absconding on a case involving the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl.
On Monday, officers responded to an area near the intersection of River Road and Riverside Drive on a report of a man walking in the middle of the street impeding traffic.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, multiple officers encountered 42-year-old Samuel Lee Delmar, who they later determine through a records check was listed as noncompliant on the sex offender registry. Officers also found an active warrant for his arrest.
The suspect was transported and booked into jail in Washington County on a third-degree felony charge of failing to register as a sex offender, as well as an infraction for a pedestrian-related violation. Delmar was formally charged with the offenses two days later.
The outstanding warrant for Delmar’s arrest involved a second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child case filed in February 2020.
According to charging documents filed with the court, the investigation into that case was opened when a woman called police to report that a 10-year-old girl had been molested shortly after midnight.
Officers responded to the scene, where the caller said the man suspected in the abuse, Delmar, had been staying with the family for approximately three months.
The report states the child was awakened by Delmar when he went into the girl’s room late at night and proceeded to touch the child as she slept. When detectives arrived at the residence they were advised the suspect had been detained and transported to the St. George Police Department for an interview.
The reporting party said that earlier that same night, she awakened to find the 10-year-old child near her bed “acting scared.” The child said she woke up and that Delmar was in her room and touching her, and after he left, she went into the caller’s room. The woman also told officers she confronted the suspect, who said nothing, at which point she called police.
During a walk-through of the residence, officers noted the room Delmar was staying in was directly across the hall from the child’s room. They also noted a strong odor of alcohol as they passed by Delmar’s room, the floor of which was littered with open containers of alcohol.
Meanwhile, as detectives were preparing to interview the suspect at the police department, they came across information stating that Delmar was suspected in two separate incidents involving sexual offenses against children; however, the suspect was never charged.
The first incident took place in 2004 involving accusations that Delmar had climbed on top of a 6-year-old girl and touched her while she was sleeping. No further details were provided on the second incident.
During the interview, Delmar reportedly said he did not remember any confrontation with the reporting party involving any allegations of sexual abuse, and when asked why he though he was at the police station, he told officers he was there because “he had been drinking.”
The report also states the suspect admitted to entering the little girl’s bedroom but that he only went in there to wake them up after he “heard one of them screaming.” He also denied touching the child, the report states, but said if he did, it was by accident.
He also allegedly admitted to pulling the blankets off the child but said he covered the girl back up and went on to explain he was in the room for less than 10 seconds and that he only pulled the covers after he was unable to wake the child.
The officer noted that Delmar also denied any prior incidents involving a child, and when confronted about the report from more than 16 years ago, he said he had done nothing wrong.
Delmar was later charged with second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child in connection with the February 2020 incident and was sentenced to serve 120 days in jail and placed on three years’ probation during a sentencing hearing held in October 2021.
The warrant was issued after Delmar absconded from his probation officer, according to the agent’s report, which also states the suspect was reportedly living somewhere in Arizona. That case is still active in the courts.
At the time of the 2020 case, the suspect was on probation on a 2019 burglary case filed in May of that year after officers responded to a Ross department store on River Road on a report that a man was inside of the store allegedly making threats.
Store security told officers Delmar was inside of the store threatening to kill everyone, including himself, before he charged at the security guard and assaulted him. Delmar was later placed on probation, but his probation was terminated unsuccessfully, the report states, after he picked up the new case on the sexual abuse charges.
Following Monday’s arrest, Delmar was formally charged with failing to register as a sex offender. He made an initial appearance in 5th District Court the following day and was remanded to the custody of the Washington County Jail.
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.
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