This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A former camp counselor has been charged with a slew of felonies for allegedly sexually abusing a boy he met at camp.
Keldon S. Cook, 29, was charged Monday in 2nd District Court with four counts of forcible sodomy, which are first-degree felonies. He was also charged with forcible sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor, which are second-degree felonies, and dealing in harmful materials to a minor by an adult, which is a third-degree felony.
A 17-year-old boy told investigators that, when he was 14, he met Cook at an Especially For Youth overnight program at Brigham Young University. Cook and the teen communicated for the next two years.
"During these conversations, [Cook] talked to him in a 'disgusting way' and asked him inappropriate questions that were very confusing to the minor male because he 'looked up' to the defendant as [he] was his mentor and counselor at EFY," the charges state.
Sometime after the boy turned 16, the two were "catching up" at a Davis County park when Cook allegedly made advances. The boy told police that Cook "persuaded him that the contact they had was acceptable … because he was his EFY counselor," the charges add.
Cook allegedly sexually abused the boy on that occassion, and two other times. He also sent sexual images of himself to the boy over Snapchat, according to charges.
Police arrested Cook on April 8, at which time he admitted to "having a sexual relationship" with the boy, according to a probable cause statement. He was booked into Davis County Jail, with his bail set at $300,000.
Cook's first court appearance has not yet been scheduled.
This past school year, Cook worked as an assistant cheer coach at Alta High School in Sandy, said Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney, who added that district officials have "no reason to believe" that Cook abused any of their students.
Cook has no prior criminal history in Utah other than two traffic violations, according to a search of court records.
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