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GRANTSVILLE — A Grantsville High School teacher was arrested earlier this week and accused of sexually abusing a student in 2017.
Richard Craig Harrison, 33, of Grantsville, was charged Thursday in Tooele's 3rd District Court with six counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, and object rape, a first-degree felony.
Police say the alleged sexual abuse began during the 2017-18 school year when the girl was 14 and 15.
The girl told police about seven times when he inappropriately touched her throughout the school: in an ice room, a storage closet, a weight room and a portable classroom, according to a police booking affidavit.
"After each incident of abuse, Harrison would message (her) asking if she was OK and would tell her to make sure she deleted her messages and not tell anyone," the affidavit states.
During a phone call with the former student, Harrison said he "vaguely remembers" an encounter when he put his hand down the girl's pants and later told police he grabbed the girl's backside in the school's weight room "with a bunch of students messing around," investigators wrote in the affidavit.
The alleged victim said she "had to do what Harrison asked of her" because he was her coach and teacher, the affidavit says.
Harrison is listed on the Grantsville High School website as a health and PE teacher.
