ROOSEVELT — A Utah fugitive facing state and federal charges related to the sexual abuse of a 7-year-old girl has been arrested by authorities in California.
Bill Dwayne Dulen was arrested Tuesday in Alameda County, Calif., following a traffic stop, said Roosevelt Police Lt. Ben Lemmon. Lemmon said Dulen is being held for investigation of driving without a license and resisting arrest, in addition to federal and state warrants out of Utah.
Dulen, 41, has been on the run since Jan. 5, when his wife confronted him in a phone call with allegations of child sex abuse after she found a note from the alleged victim to her husband in the couple's home. His abandoned truck was found in a remote area of Uintah County two days after the confrontation with his wife.
Several searches of the area turned up footprints leaving the vehicle's passenger side and walking back to another set of tire tracks. There were no other footprints in the freshly fallen snow.
Shortly after his disappearance, the Duchesne County Attorney's Office charged Dulen with two counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child. The U.S. Attorney's Office also obtained a federal grand jury indictment against Dulen, charging him with producing child pornography and possessing it on a computer seized from his home.
Lemmon said Dulen's arrest comes just days before authorities were going to finalize plans to have the Roosevelt man featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted." The lieutenant said he expects Dulen to be extradited to Utah before the end of the month.
E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com