This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Unified Police detectives were working unspecified new information Friday in hopes of locating and bringing to justice a man who sexually assaulted an 8-year-old Kearns girl.
UPD Detective Ken Hansen did not identify a suspect or indicate an arrest was expected soon, but did confirm that, "We have several tips we are following up on."
About 1:45 p.m. Thursday, two 8-year-old girls were approached by the man as they walked along the 4980 block of Pieper Boulevard (4980 West). He told the girls, who questioned his lack of uniform, that he was an undercover police officer on the prowl for "bad guys."
Claiming he was concerned for their safety, the man insisted on walking them home. However, a short distance later he told one of the girls to continue on. Moments after that, he threw the other girl over a fence into a small field, jumped the fence and assaulted her.
When the suspect ran off, the girl went home and her family called 911.
The suspect was described as a young white man with bushy, brown hair, blue or green eyes and a scar the corner of his mouth. The girls told police that he was wearing blue pajama-style pants and might have been seen in a "shiny" red car with "shiny" wheels just before he approached the girls.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call UPD at 801-743-7000, or text information to 385 GOTTIPS or 385 468-8477.
Twitter: @remims