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SALT LAKE CITY — The former fire chief of Kanosh, who is also a former sheriff's deputy, was charged Wednesday for allegedly trying to protect his son, who is accused of raping a firefighter multiple times.
The chief was allegedly told about the assaults but failed to take any action, and the woman was sexually assaulted again by his son a few months later, according to charging documents.
Scott Corry, 62, of Kanosh, was charged by the Utah Attorney General's Office with obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, and official misconduct, a class B misdemeanor.
Corry was the fire chief in Kanosh and was with the Millard County Sheriff's Office for about 35 years before retiring in October. He retired with the rank of sergeant.
Corry's son, Austin James Corry, 27, was the assistant fire chief in Kanosh. In September, he was charged in 4th District Court with two counts of rape, two counts of object rape, five counts of forcible sexual abuse and five counts of sexual battery, for allegedly assaulting a female firefighter under his command multiple times since 2015, according to charging documents.
Later, he was charged in a second case with raping another woman at the fire station.
The next hearings for both cases are scheduled for Aug. 14.
According to charging documents filed Wednesday against Scott Corry, the woman in Austin Corry's first case had contacted Scott Corry — her boss — and told him "about the rapes and sexual assault she had been victim of committed by Austin Corry as well as playing him an audio recording of her being assaulted by Austin."
In April 2018, Austin Corry asked the woman to come to the fire station "for some paperwork. When she arrived, he had no paperwork, but he grabbed and held her" and inappropriately touched her, the charges state. But the woman, fearing something might happen, had an audio recorder running on her cellphone.
"On the recording, (the woman) can be heard repeatedly telling Corry 'no,' and to 'stop,' but he ignores her and continues to sexually assault her," the charging documents say.
The woman played that recording for Scott Corry, according to his charges. Scott Corry told the woman he "would take care of it and … would figure out how to handle it," the charges state.
The woman said she played the recording for Scott Corry in the spring of 2018, "just a few months before she was assaulted in August of 2018," according to charging documents.
Prosecutors say Scott Corry "deceived the victim into believing that he would aid her and report the crime and then after telling the victim he did not make any reports or take any actions to protect (her) from again being assaulted by Austin," the charges state.
Because Scott Corry failed to contact anyone or do anything, the woman was assaulted by Austin Corry again, according to the charges.
On Aug. 22, after his son was arrested, detectives interviewed Scott Corry. At that time, he denied having previous knowledge of the assaults, the charges state.
In October, after learning from the woman that Scott Corry had knowledge of the alleged assaults, he was interviewed again by law enforcers.
"Scott Corry admitted he had heard the audio and had talked with (the woman) and told her they would figure it out. Scott Corry made a statement about it being time for him to retire and that he was also trying to protect his son and he never got around to it," the charges state.
Those who have experienced sexual abuse or assault can get assistance from Utah's statewide 24-hour Rape and Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 888-421-1100.
