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HIGHLAND — A registered sex offender found naked in a park was arrested Friday, police said, just one month after completing probation for charges of lewdness involving children.
Darrell Little, 33, was naked near a pond in Highland Glen Park when two officers conducting a foot patrol saw him at about 12:30 a.m., according to Lone Peak Police Detective Dave Ventrano. The park has an 11 p.m. curfew.
“They shined their flashlights on him and the individual began to run away,” Ventrano said. “They noticed right away that he was completely naked.”
Police told Little to stop, but Ventrano said he continued running until officers caught up with him after several hundred yards and commanded him to get on the ground.
"He advised that he knew they were police, but because of his situation of being naked — and I understand that he's been in similar situations — he said he was afraid and that's why he ran," Ventrano said.
When police asked Little what he was doing in the park, he told them he was there for a skinny dip. Investigators said they found clothes and toys around him that did not belong to him, but appeared to belong to a young female.
The items were found in the spot where officers first saw Little, police said. Little denied ownership of the items.
“He did have a shirt in his hand at the time and he claimed he found that item on a bench and was just using it to dry himself off,” Ventrano said.
There were no females located in the area, according to investigators.
"It seemed odd to me that Darrell would be in possession of little girl's clothing and that other younger female items would be in close proximity of where Darrell was first observed," an officer wrote in an affidavit filed in 4th District Court.
They shined their flashlights on him and the individual began to run away. They noticed right away that he was completely naked.
–Lone Peak Police Detective Dave Ventrano
Little was arrested and booked in the Utah County Jail on suspicion of lewdness, failure to stop at the command of a police officer and trespassing. Because he trespassed in the park after curfew, he will no longer be allowed in the area, Ventrano said.
Little's attorney, Ed Brass, said he was sorry to hear about Friday's incident and said Little suffers from "serious emotional and mental disabilities."
Little was arrested in 2010 for taking indecent liberties with five child victims where he created "games" to entice the children as they walked past his home from school, according to a police affidavit. Little also "removed his clothing in a public place, under a bridge over a dry canal, in an area and at a time when he knew children would be walking home from school," the affidavit states.
Little "demonstrates a propensity for sexually motivated crimes against children," police wrote at the time.
Little pleaded guilty that year in 4th District Court to three counts of lewdness involving a child, a third-degree felony, and two counts of inviting a child to accompany him while a sex offender, a class A misdemeanor. Five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, were dismissed in exchange for his pleas. He was sentenced to 334 days in jail, psychological treatment and 36 months of probation, which was terminated successfully on May 20.
In 2006, Little admitted after being arrested to exposing himself to minors in a park about once every two weeks over the course of three or four years, according to a police affidavit. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of lewdness and lewdness involving a child and was placed on 12 months' probation and ordered to undergo psychological treatment.
During Friday's incident, Little's intentions did not appear to involve children, Ventrano said.
"Obviously, it raises a level of concern," he said. "(But) he was located at 12:30 in the morning — well after children are asleep, I would hope."
Contributing: Mary Richards
