Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MONTICELLO — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper turned himself in on Friday after he was accused of sexual abuse and exposing himself to children.
Bryan Bruce Adams, 45, of Monticello, was charged Thursday in San Juan County's 7th District Court with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony; two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of lewdness involving a child, a class A misdemeanor.
Adams exposed himself to three children and touched two of them inappropriately between October 2019 and October 2021, charging documents allege. Adams turned himself in at the Carbon County Jail on Friday and was later booked into the Utah County Jail.
In a statement released Thursday, UHP said it received a complaint on March 10 regarding Adams' potential criminal conduct and he was placed on administrative leave on March 13. The Utah Department of Public Safety's Office of Professional Standards also began an internal investigation. UHP said the agency was notified Thursday of charges filed the same day.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office investigated the allegations and filed charges on Thursday. Though the charges were filed in Monticello's district court, the prosecutors listed in charging documents are with the Utah County Attorney's Office.
Adams resigned from the highway patrol on April 11, according to the UHP release. Adams began his employment with UHP in November 2012.
The Department of Public Safety's Office of Professional Standards was "currently completing an internal investigation," as of Thursday. The investigation will include a review of the criminal charges and a review of internal policies. Once completed, the findings will be sent to the Utah Peace Officers Standards and Training.
"The mission of the Utah Highway Patrol can only be accomplished by maintaining the public trust and confidence of those we serve," UHP said in the statement. "Criminal charges of this nature are extremely serious and do not represent the standards we strive to attain or the values we hold at UHP."
Adams is scheduled for his initial court appearance on April 25.
