Police: Man followed boy walking home from school, tried to get the boy to go with him

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SOUTH OGDEN — An Ogden man was arrested after police say he followed a boy walking home from school and tried to convince the boy to go with him.

Ethan Cory Swisher, 31 was booked into the Weber County Jail on Tuesday. Wednesday he was charged in 2nd District Court with attempted child kidnapping, a second-degree felony.

A 10-year-old boy was walking home from Burch Creek Elementary School, 4300 Madison Ave., when Swisher approached him, according to a police affidavit. The boy said Swisher told him "that his parents asked him to take the child home. The child told Ethan that his parents were home and did not need him to take him home but Ethan told the child he still needed to take him home. The child said he told Ethan no and then left," the affidavit states.

The boy's father called police when the boy got home and told officers "that Ethan has followed his kids from school before and he has contacted the principal and the police department about it before," according to the affidavit.

On Tuesday, a crossing guard spotted Swisher walking around the school and saw the boy "running away from Ethan in a panic," the affidavit states.

Police located Swisher near the school and arrested him.

On Feb. 1, Swisher was charged in 2nd District Court with drug possession, interfering with an arrest and failing to give his identity to police.

In that case, Ogden police said Swisher was "lurking" around a hotel and "checking car doors and following customers," according to charging documents.

Defense attorneys in that case have requested a competency review to determine if Swisher can stand trial. A hearing was scheduled for Monday.

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Pat Reavy, KSLPat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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