SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, May 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake County man has been jailed on felony charges after an alleged attempt to have sex with someone he believed to be a 5-year-old boy.
Jesse Vernie Hartwell, 32, was arrested Friday on three counts of sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony; and enticing a minor, first-degree felony sexual activity, a second-degree felony.
On Thursday, Hartwell “used the internet and text messaging” to propose having two types of sex acts with the child, court documents say. The person answering the texts was, in fact, an agent with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Hartwell was arrested when he arrived at the arranged location. He was booked into the Salt Lake County jail system and ordered held without bail.
