ST. GEORGE — A 76-year-old Winchester Hills man accused of molesting an underage teenage boy is in jail facing felony sexual abuse charges.
Terry Douglas Carlsen turned himself in at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 3 p.m. Wednesday and was booked into jail shortly thereafter, a surrender that was arranged by Carlsen’s defense attorney.
The arrest stems from an investigation opened in August when the father of an underaged boy called police to report that his teenage son reportedly had been sexually molested by a man living in the rural community north of St. George.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, Washington County Sheriff’s investigators learned Carlsen had moved to the community a year or so before and was living alone after losing his wife in a horse riding accident, as well as his adult sons who died prior to him relocating to the area.
Because the suspect was living alone as a widower, a family befriended Carlsen. As time went on, the suspect started riding horses and interacting with a teenage boy who was under the age of 16 and was helping Carlsen navigate through the many applications on the suspect’s computer.
Carlsen began buying the youth expensive gifts, and then sexually molested the boy, police say, while the youth was helping the suspect with his computer. In one instance, the suspect opened pornographic video files with the youth present and exposed himself to the teen.
Officers also learned that after the incident, the suspect told the youth not to tell anyone what had taken place and said the boy could come to his home and “have whatever he wants,” as long as he didn’t tell.
The youth, however, returned home and told his father what had happened and the incident was reported to police.
During a telephone conversation on Aug. 15, Carlsen admitted to watching pornography on his computer and also told authorities he had exposed himself. He claimed he had done so at the request of the underaged victim – statements that police say were voluntarily offered by the suspect during the conversation, the report states, and an in-person interview was scheduled for the following day.
Arrangements were made for the suspect to surrender himself at the sheriff’s office on Wednesday afternoon, and the suspect arrived at 3 p.m. and was taken into custody. Carlsen subsequently was booked into jail facing second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and third-degree felony count of dealing in harmful materials to a minor. He was also booked on a misdemeanor lewdness charge. The suspect was being held on $10,000 bail.
The charges were filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office later that same day and Carlsen was released from jail after posting a bond.
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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