Sex abuse allegations detailed in Carbon County public documents


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PRICE — Jail documents released Friday provide the first public glimpse into the rape and child sex abuse investigation that landed a Carbon County sheriff's employee behind bars last month.

John Gerald Shiew, 35, was arrested Oct. 30 by Price police and booked into the Emery County Jail for investigation of rape, aggravated sexual assault of a child, child abuse, enticing a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

On Friday, the jail released the probable cause statement filed when Shiew was booked. The document release was in response to a Nov. 1 public records request.

In the two-page statement, police allege that Shiew began allowing two juvenile girls to spend time at his house in June and let them drink alcohol during their visits.

"(Shiew) would allow them to drink to the point of drunkenness, and he asked for disrobed pictures of the girls," Price Police Sgt. Robb Radley wrote in the jail report.

The girls told investigators Shiew let them sleep at his house if they were too drunk to go home. During one of those overnight stays, Shiew had sex with one of the girls, Radley wrote. He also fondled one of the girls over her clothing, according to the sergeant.

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The girls said they stopped visiting Shiew's house after the alleged sexual contact, but nothing was reported until early September. That's when one of the girls missed her curfew and Shiew "showed up to help," Radley wrote.

"(Shiew) took (the girl) by the hair and threw her to the ground, hitting her head on the floor," the sergeant wrote. "It was at that time the information was disclosed regarding (Shiew)."

Investigators said they also obtained "intercepted" text messages, "bringing it all to light."

Price Police Capt. Bill Barnes declined to comment Friday on the progress of the Shiew case, beyond saying the investigation is still active.

Shiew has worked as a civilian employee in the Carbon County Jail for the past six months. He was placed on unpaid administrative leave following his arrest.

It's not the first time Shiew's job with the sheriff's office has been in jeopardy.


(Shiew) would allow them to drink to the point of drunkenness, and he asked for disrobed pictures of the girls.

–Sgt. Robb Radley


He was employed as a Carbon County corrections officer until the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training Council voted in December 2010 to suspend his peace officer certification for three years.

Minutes from the council's Dec. 6, 2010, meeting indicate Shiew lied during an administrative investigation into a sexual relationship with a woman who "was under supervision of family drug court."

"(Shiew) apologized for his actions and told the council he would like to return to law enforcement in the future," the council's minutes state.

Shiew resigned from the sheriff's office after the council's vote.

No criminal charges have been filed against Shiew in the Price police case. He posted bail the day after his arrest and was released from jail. A call to his attorney seeking comment Friday was not returned.

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Geoff Liesik

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