WEST VALLEY CITY — A 25-year-old man witnessed by police trying to kiss a 12-year-old girl was arrested after telling officers he was having sexual relations with the girl when her mother dropped her off at his house for "play dates."
An officer was driving in the area of 3600 South and Redwood Road about 10:30 a.m. Friday when he noticed a young girl pinned against a display outside a store, apparently trying to avoid being kissed by an adult man, said West Valley Police Lt. Bill Merritt.
The officer stopped to find out what was going on. He called the girl's mother who said she had sent the girl to borrow money from the man, Merritt said.
"She didn't know anything about trying to kiss her. But she didn't seem to be too upset," he said.
When the officer talked to the man, he said that for the last five months he had been having sex with the girl when her mother brought her to his house for "play dates," according to Merritt.
The man initially gave false information about his identity to the officer. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail under the name Pedro Romero, 25, for investigation of lewdness involving a child. He was also being held in jail on a no-bail immigration detainer.
Merritt said the man lives in South Salt Lake and an investigation was being conducted to see if additional charges were warranted and if other people knew about the illegal relationship.
— Pat Reavy