Charge: Kaysville man offered to attend church if teen exposed herself

Charge: Kaysville man offered to attend church if teen exposed herself

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KAYSVILLE — A Kaysville man who police say convinced a 17-year-old he would start going to church if she exposed herself to him now faces a felony sex abuse charge.

Leland Christopher Bowers, 37, was charged June 8 in 2nd District Court with forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.

In May, police say Bowers began communicating with a girl on Facebook. The two arranged to meet at an undisclosed church.

"The defendant made a promise to the 17-year-old female that if she exposed her breasts to him he would attend church," according to charging documents and a search warrant affidavit unsealed Sunday.

The girl agreed to show Bowers, but told him he could not touch her. However, when she lifted her shirt, Bowers grabbed her, the charges state.

In subsequent Facebook messages recovered by police, Bowers told the girl, "I know you said no about touching, but I thought you enjoyed me looking at you," according to the charges.

In May, Bowers pleaded guilty to an amended charge of attempted electronic communication harassment, a class B misdemeanor, in Syracuse Justice Court, and was sentenced to probation. In that case, Bowers sent text messages to a woman he was ordered not to contact. According to charging documents, "he has been harassing her and making unrequited overtures toward her for approximately 10 years."

In 2003, Bowers took a plea in abeyance in a Layton stalking case, pleading guilty to a class A misdemeanor. The charge was later dismissed after he successfully completed probation.

In 2011, Bowers was charged in a felony shoplifting case, and later pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge, according to court records.

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Pat Reavy

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