Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
OGDEN — A man wanted for allegedly kidnapping and sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy has been arrested in California.
Ryan Mitchell Schaffer, 33, is accused of approaching a 14-year-old boy on July 3 as he stepped off FrontRunner at 2393 S. Wall Ave. and forcing him at knife point to go with him, according to an arrest warrant.
The boy told police that for three days Schaffer took him to several locations and forced him at gunpoint to perform sex acts on him at least three times. The teen escaped when he was left briefly unattended, Ogden police said.
The boy was not from Ogden and was not reported missing while he was gone, Ogden police said. They declined to release further information about him.
The search for Schaffer began Aug. 1, and Friday police in Eureka, Calif., arrested him without incident in a home there.
"We interviewed several people, and the information led us there, that he had been taken to California," said Ogden Police Lt. Danielle Croyle. "Hopefully we'll get to extradite him back to Utah to face criminal charges."
Related Stories:
Ogden police investigate alleged abusing, kidnapping of teen
An arrest warrant has been issued for a man who police say kidnapped and sexually abused a 14-year-old boy.Police aren't sure who transported Schaffer to California, Croyle said. He is under investigation of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and three counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, all third-degree felonies.
Croyle thanked the assisting agencies for helping with the search that crossed state lines and multiple jurisdictions.
"They worked tirelessly in helping us apprehend fugitive Ryan Mitchell Schaffer," Croyle said.
In 2007, Schaffer was convicted of two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, both second-degree felonies. In May 2012, Schaffer was convicted on an amended charge of attempting to not register as a sex offender and giving false information to police.
Schaffer was required in February to update his sex offender registration, according to court documents. But when investigators went to his last known address, his mother said he had moved out of state, though she refused to say where he went.
Because no other state had record of him moving into their area, Schaffer was charged July 30 in 2nd District Court with failing to register as a sex offender.
