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SALT LAKE CITY — A Kearns man accused of sexually abusing multiple girls over the past decade faces 16 criminal charges, including 13 felonies alleging sex crimes.
Arthur Robert Wade, 48, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with four counts of rape, two counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child, two counts of sodomy on a child and three counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies. He was also charged with five other crimes.
His wife was also charged Thursday with telling at least one of the alleged victims to remain silent.
At least four victims over the past 10 years have alleged that Wade abused them in Utah, Colorado and Nevada, according to Unified police. The victims' ages ranged between 12 and 17, court records state.
Some of the victims were allegedly abused in Sandy.
In 2012, Wade bought cigarettes and beer for a woman, whom he had allegedly abused before, when she was 18 and demanded intercourse as payment, according to charging documents.
When police began investigating the case, Wade called the woman's father and told him "that there was an ongoing investigation and that he should talk to (his daughter) and (tell) her that it would be best if (she) did not talk to investigators," the charges state.
In September, Wade's wife allegedly caught him naked with a 17-year-old girl and "took pictures of what she saw and had recorded the conversation with (him) when she confronted him about what happened," according to the charges.
The wife told a police officer about the recordings on Oct. 13. But 10 days later, she told the officer "she intentionally deleted the photos and recordings," the charges state.
Larissa Wade told the girl "it would be her fault if (Arthur Wade) died in prison and that she would be ruining their family,." - Charging documents
On that same day, when one of the girls was to be interviewed by police, Larissa Esperanza Wade told the girl "it would be her fault if (Arthur Wade) died in prison and that she would be ruining their family," the charges state.
Larissa Wade, 39, was charged Thursday with witness tampering, a third-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a class A misdemeanor.
A $750,000 warrant was issued Thursday for Art Wade's arrest.
In addition to the 11 first-degree felonies, Art Wade was also charged Thursday with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, witness tampering, a third-degree felony, providing alcohol to a minor, a class B misdemeanor, and providing tobacco to a minor, a class C misdemeanor.
