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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
Courtney Orton reportingA teenager with disabilities has confessed to breaking into homes in a Provo neighborhood near the group home where he lived.
The 15-year-old lived right across the street from at least two of the homes he admitted to breaking into. Provo police believe he entered with the intent to have unlawful physical contact with the children inside.
"He'd been in our home on several occasions. He knew where our children's bedrooms were," a neighbor named Rachel said.
The teen must have also known where the children were in the homes. At one house he used a stepladder and a garbage can to climb inside early in the morning while the family was sleeping.
"If that's not disturbing enough, I found this knife, which was from my kitchen, stuck in the ground right here," said homeowner Scott Bingham.
Bingham believes the teen got alarmingly close to his sleeping sons. "I shudder at what could have happened," he said.
Carolyn Rom was sleeping in bed with her young daughter when she heard something that woke her up. "I could see him. He was on all fours on the ground. I could see a huge shadow of somebody," she said. "I was just like, ‘Get out! Get out right now!'"
As far as police know, the teen didn't harm anyone or steal anything while inside the homes. But the victims say he stole something that is irreplaceable. "You know, he might not have stolen anything today tangible that you can assess a value to, but he stole the peace, tranquility and the quality of life we have in this neighborhood," Bingham said.
Chrysalis, the company providing residential support to the 15-year-old, e-mailed Eyewitness News this statement: "This young man is in the youth corrections system at this point and will not be returning to our services. We apologize to the individuals who were frightened by this young man's actions and we understand the community concern."
The teen is being held at the juvenile detention center.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
