Ex-school counselor charged with illegal sex activity with student

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SALT LAKE CITY — A former high school counselor in St. George has been charged with having a "sexual encounter" with a 17-year-old student in 2008.

Heidi Tasso, 50, of St. George, was charged Tuesday in 5th District Court with unlawful sexual activity with a 17-year-old, a third-degree felony.

Tasso, a former counselor at Millcreek High School in St. George, inappropriately touched a 17-year-old girl while the two were at Tasso's home in 2008, according to charging documents.

Deputy Washington County attorney Ryan Shaum said the investigation has been active for several years.

"It's been an ongoing investigation, and it came to the point we believed we could file charges and it was time to get the case moving forward," he said. "We had the evidence we needed and were ready to move forward."

Shaum declined to say specifically Tuesday what evidence prompted his office to move forward with charges now.

Although prosecutors say their records show the incident happened in 2008, Washington County School District spokesman Steve Dunham said the district was first notified in 2015 of an incident "that apparently took place between 2002 and 2004."

Tasso was interviewed by district officials and she resigned nine days later, Dunham said. She has not worked for a school in the Washington County School District since, he said.

Tasso was hired in February of 2016 by Dixie State University as its student success director. The university on Tuesday said her employment ended just eight months later. The school would not say Tuesday if she left voluntarily or describe the circumstances surrounding her departure.

It was not immediately known Tuesday whether Tasso is currently employed with a school.

Shaum said his office does not have evidence of any other possible victims.