This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah State University women's volunteer rugby coach was arrested and booked into Utah County jail on allegations she carried on an illicit sexual affair with a teenage girl.
Lehi police Lt. Darren Paul confirmed Tuesday that Tara Earl, 29, of Smithfield, was arrested on Nov. 10. She was booked on suspicion of four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year old, a third-degree felony. Earl was released Monday on $10,000 bail, jail records show.
The girl, accompanied by her parents, made the complaint at Lehi police headquarters on Oct. 31. Police subsequently questioned Earl at her Smithfield home.
"They interviewed the suspect and she acknowledged they had a relationship, though she denied some of the allegations," Paul said.
Earl has been suspended from her coaching position with the recreational-level team, but reportedly has said she intends to fight the allegations in court. She has an unlisted telephone number and could not immediately be reached for comment by The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday.
The girl was not a member of the USU team, but told Lehi police she was 17 when she first met Earl in July 2010 during a rugby tournament at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.
"The victim said they began a social media friendship, on Facebook, and then texting back and forth," Paul said. "Then in fall 2010, the victim said, they went to the USU campus [in Logan]. My understanding is that the suspect was not affiliated with the USU rugby team at that time, but had arranged to have the victim come up to campus.
"They spent some time together there, and then the suspect took the victim back to Salt Lake City and that's when the relationship allegedly became physical," Paul added. "The victim said that in December 2010, they stayed at a motel in Lehi twice and there was more [alleged] abuse."