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This week, video of a suspected Internet predator's arrest was posted on the Utah attorney general's new Web site, but tonight the man was released from jail.
Adam Rich was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday for allegedly arranging to meet a young girl for sex, but 72 hours later, he's out because prosecutors didn't file charges.
Attorney Jonathon Grimes was there as his new client, 26-year-old Adam Rich, left the Salt Lake County Jail tonight. "The attorney general's office has 72 hours to file a charge against someone that they've taken into custody, and they haven't filed yet." Rich won't have to spend the long weekend in jail.
Grimes said, "H's the face of the new Web site, and it's surprising to me." But it isn't surprising to the attorney general's office that charges haven't been filed yet. Over the phone today, Paul Murphy, the spokesman for the attorney general, said, "It's not unusual at all. Prosecutors have a very high case load, and they want to make sure it's done right." He added, "He will be charged."
"As to what his eventual defense will be, at this point, I honestly don't know," Grimes said. He also told KSL, "There have been some people murmuring in his direction, he feels threatened, he's scared."
Though, he's not happy his client is on the attorney general's Web site for all to see, Grimes said, "By taking this individual who has not been charged, let alone tried or convicted, and punishing them by spreading them and saying they are a predator and a perpetrator and all these horrible things. It's punishing somebody before they've even been charged."
Attorney General Shurtleff hopes the video will deter others from committing crimes. He's received criticism from civil rights activists but says other states like Texas are doing the same thing.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
