Ex-Scout leader attempts suicide amid more allegations of sexual misconduct


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SOUTH OGDEN — The case of a former longtime school teacher and Boy Scout leader accused of storing explicit pictures of young boys on his computer is taking on new twists, with more witnesses who have come forward and a botched suicide attempt by the accused.

Suicide attempt

Kenneth Prince, 61, was taken to the hospital and involuntarily committed for a mental health evaluation after being found at a Logan home at about 3 a.m. Thursday with a half-empty bottle of mercury and cuts to his head and wrists, The Herald Journal of Logan reported.

Officers found a note in the home in which Prince apologized to his family for trying to take his life.

The case turned into a hazmat incident as health officials were forced to decontaminate a portion of the police building and homes of some responding officers and medical personnel who were exposed to the mercury, the Standard-Examiner of Ogden reported.

"We go into some of these situations blind and not knowing, and it was one of those situations where you couldn't see the contamination and didn't know it was present," said Asst. Chief Jeff Curtis of the Logan Police Department.

More allegations

Meanwhile, South Ogden Police Chief Darin Parke said Saturday that eight men have contacted investigators after learning about the current criminal charges filed against Prince.

In the latest allegations to surface, the eight men told police that Prince took photos of them when they were students at South Ogden Junior High School, where he was a teacher. A few of the men said they also knew Prince as their Scout leader.

According to Parke, the men who have approached investigators about the case said the photos were taken in a group setting after Prince would convince them it was some official activity. He'd then ask the boys to take their clothes off, Parke said. The pictures were not taken on school property, according to the chief.

Case history

The case against Prince continues to grow after he was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The second-degree felonies were lodged after a man reported to police he had been molested by Prince more than a decade ago.

A subsequent search of Prince's home earlier this month revealed a laptop containing sexually explicit photos of young boys.

Prince taught at South Ogden Junior High School from 1979 until 2008. That was the same year Prince was discovered by Salt Lake police in a "lewd act," in a west Salt Lake gym.

Prince retired the next month from his teaching career, but Weber School District officials refused to say if his departure was in any way related to the lewdness incident.

By 2010, the misdemeanor case was dismissed after he was allowed to enter a plea of guilty — which was held in abeyance if he was able to meet the conditions of the court.

Police are asking anyone with information on Prince to call 801-629-8221 and ask to talk to South Ogden investigators.

Contributing: Associated Press

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Amy Joi O'Donoghue and Sandra Yi

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast