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WEST VALLEY CITY — A former police officer in Utah has been arrested and accused of engaging in sexual relations with a runaway teen girl that he allowed to stay at his home.
Edward Michael Cann, 29, of West Valley City, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday for investigation of eight counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and providing shelter to a runaway.
A 14-year-old girl ran away from home on June 29. Investigators were able to track the girl to Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City where they learned she was then picked up by Cann, according to a police affidavit.
The girl later told police that she was at Cann's home for four days and during that time she said she engaged in "consensual sexual intercourse" multiple times, according to the affidavit. Investigators say Cann told the girl to leave his house after he received information that police were looking for him. She then went to a friend's house in Eagle Mountain where police found her on July 4.
Police noted in the affidavit that "Cann is a former law enforcement officer and military veteran who recently was in the hospital for PTSD."
Cann was a detective for the West Valley Police Department from June 2017 until his resignation on Nov. 2, 2020, according to West Valley City. It was not known Wednesday why he resigned from the department.
