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FARMINGTON — A Unified police officer was arrested this week for an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, the department said Thursday.
Officer Regan Anson, 25, was booked into the Davis County Jail just after midnight Thursday, a little less than 48 hours after Unified police say they discovered the relationship. His bail was set at $150,000.
Unified's Special Victims Unit discovered while investigating an unrelated sexual assault case that Anson may have been sexually involved with the girl, Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell said Thursday. Bell said he doesn't believe the girl was the victim in the unrelated case.
"We came across it while looking at something completely unrelated which was at first a very shocking discovery to us," he said. "It's absolutely unacceptable to us to have an officer do something that's criminal and especially something like this that can harm public trust."
Salt Lake police handled the criminal investigation at the request of Unified police. Officers arrested Anson at Salt Lake City International Airport about 11 p.m. Wednesday, a short time after his flight arrived there, said Salt Lake police detective Cody Lougy.
Anson met the teen while on duty, but was off duty when he had sex with her on five occasions, Lougy said. Lougy didn't know Thursday about other details concerning Anson's alleged relationship with the girl.
"If that was on a police call or a traffic stop, I'm not sure how that (initial) contact was made," he said.
For each alleged sexual encounter, Anson is being investigated for rape, an enhanced offense because of his position of trust with the girl, Lougy said.
"These are cases we take very seriously. … This individual was turned in by his own rank and file," he said. "Something we hold very dear … (is) the position of trust that's given by the public."
An internal investigation into Anson's alleged actions is ongoing, in addition to the criminal investigation, Bell said.
Anson was placed on paid administrative leave while the investigations are ongoing. He has worked for the Unified Police Department for seven months as a patrol officer in the Riverton precinct. He previously worked for the West Valley City Police Department, but resigned from that job after less than two years working there, Bell said.
Bell defended the screening process Unified police use to hire new officers.
"During our interview, background process, nothing that was terribly alarming came up. We had an issue or two that we had talked to him about ... that (weren't) at all related to this type of behavior," he said. "So obviously it's really hard to see something like this coming. Had we seen something like this coming, we would not have hired this individual."
As a first-year hire, Anson is a probationary employee, meaning he can be fired based on his job performance without the same protections as more experienced officers, according to Bell.
These are cases we take very seriously. … This individual was turned in by his own rank and file. Something we hold very dear … (is) the position of trust that's given by the public.
–Salt Lake police detective Cody Lougy
"He is very new to our organization. A lot of us don't have a lot of experience with him," Bell said.
The lieutenant added he wants the public to know the department holds itself accountable.
"We have a great relationship with the public, and we've always been very open about the mistakes that our officers make. We continue to do that. We continue to police ourselves and look for indiscretion and violations of policy," Bell said.
The relationship between Anson and the teen lasted "a few months," Bell said, though he didn't know exactly when it started. He didn't release further details about how investigators caught on to the alleged impropriety.
Contributing: Brianna Bodily, Jed Boal, Nicole Vowell
