UTAH COUNTY, Utah, June 4, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Santaquin man is facing a charge of sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony, after an incident that allegedly occurred over a Fourth of July weekend four years ago.
Jaron John Jensen, 38, was arrested May 30 and transported to Utah County Jail with his bail set at $10,000, according to a probable cause statement from Utah County.
A forensic interview was conducted with a 14-year-old female at the Children’s Justice Center in Provo on May 23, the probable cause statement said.
During the interview, the 14-year-old female said that when she was 10 years old she was sleeping over at the Jensen residence, which was in Payson, and was sexually abused by him during that sleepover, the statement said.
The victim said she was sleeping over at Jensen’s residence the night before a Fourth of July parade, and added she was sleeping upstairs on a mattress that was on the floor.
“The victim said in her interview that she was having a difficult time falling asleep and was missing her mother,” the statement said. “The victim stated that Jaron came into the room and talked to her.”
She then told detectives she remembers waking up around 11:30 p.m. that night and felt Jensen touching her private parts. She said that when Jensen realized she had woken up, he stopped.
The juvenile girl then went downstairs and told Jensen’s wife that he had touched her inappropriately.
After the interview in May, Jensen’s wife was contacted. She confirmed that the victim was sleeping at her residence and recalled the victim telling her that Jensen had touched her. However, Jensen denied the allegation to his wife.
Jensen’s wife stated that she did not notify the victim’s mother or father because she did not put “merit” into what the victim had told her.
