Military instructor at Tooele High School arrested for alleged sexual abuse of a student


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TOOELE — A man who works as a U.S. Army recruiter and taught a class at Tooele High School has been arrested for investigation of unlawful sexual conduct with a student.

Brian Dragon, 32, was arrested over the weekend.

According to the Tooele Police Department, Dragon was an instructor for a Students Taking Active Roles, or STAR, course, a military-type class, at the high school but was not a school district employee.

On Friday, the Tooele High School resource officer contacted police after a student came forward to report "suspicious behavior" by Dragon, according to Tooele police spokeswoman Tanya Turnbow.

"During the course of the investigation, the victim reported to detectives that she had been sexually abused," Turnbow said.

On Saturday, Dragon was arrested in Herriman and booked into the Tooele County Jail for investigation of three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old.

Turnbow said when the case is screened by the Tooele County Attorney's Office, officers will seek to have rape charges filed.

The alleged sexual activity happened on school property, Turnbow said.

"At this time, no additional victims have been discovered. However, this case remains an ongoing investigation," she said.

Jeff Ross, public affairs officer for the Salt Lake City Army Recruiting Battalion, said Dragon has been a detail recruiter for the U.S. Army since 2014, working mainly out of West Valley City.

A person assigned as a detail recruiter is in that position for three years and is then sent back to his normal assignment, Ross said. Dragon was an infantryman, he said.

Dragon has been removed as a recruiter pending the outcome of the investigation.

"The actions alleged are in complete contradiction to the Army's values that we hold near and dear to our heart," Ross said.

The STAR program is designed to augment military-like programs in high schools that don't have those programs, he said, similar to the Junior ROTC.

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