SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Aug. 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A registered sex offender has been arrested after a young girl was allegedly abused in Salt Lake County.
A probable cause statement from the 3rd District Court of Salt Lake County said Spencer Kay Kartchner, 54, is facing a charge of unlawful sexual activity with a minor under the age of 18, a second-degree felony.
On July 16, Riverton detectives interviewed a woman who said the incident occurred 11 years ago when she was 12 years old, the probable cause statement said.
She said she met Kartchner when she was around 9 years old.
“Victim said, ‘there was always light touching and light/long hugs, kind of like the grooming process almost,'” the statement said. “Victim said Spencer would always perform subtle touches to her body. Victim said Spencer would come and sit by her any time she was at his home and put his arm around her. Victim said Spencer would also graze her back or shoulder area frequently.”
The woman said she did not have a strong father figure, or male figure, in her life at this time, so she thought this was a normal thing to be happening to her. She also said that Kartchner was aware of her not having a male figure in her life at this time.
The victim said that when she was 12, she was watching “America’s Funniest Home Videos” with Kartchner and with other people in the room. She was lying on a couch with a blanket over her, she said. She said Kartchner lifted her blanket, so it was now up to her neck area, then put his hand on her stomach and started to tickle her stomach underneath her clothing.
He then touched her chest “for what felt like probably 15 minutes,” under her clothes, she said. He then touched her private parts under her clothes, she added. The victim told detectives that once the show was over, Kartchner stopped touching her.
She then went upstairs and pretended to do homework to get her away from Kartchner, she said.
She said Kartchner came up to her at the kitchen table and “ran his hand across like the back of my (the victim’s) shoulders, and he said ‘I’m sorry, I thought you liked it,'” the statement said.
Detectives met with Kartchner on Aug. 5. He was read his Miranda Rights and consented to be interviewed. Kartchner confirmed to detectives that he is on the Sexual Offender Registry for life. He then spoke about the alleged incident with the victim in this case and said he was in a “bad state of mind at this time,” the statement said.
He said he wanted to be upfront about the incident, but wanted to speak with his attorney first.
Kartchner was transported to the Salt Lake County Jail with his bail set at $500,000.
