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DRAPER — Four years after a former Draper police lieutenant was charged with sexually abusing another officer, a jury needed less than an hour to find him not guilty.
"He simply never committed the heinous acts that were alleged. This nightmare, that has lasted over four years, is now over for him and his family. Mr. Carpenter is extremely happy to get his life back," his attorney, Nathan Evershed, said following Wednesday's verdict.
Chad Carpenter, 52, of Herriman, was charged in 2019 in 3rd District Court with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. He was accused of inappropriately touching another officer at the Draper Police Department after the officer had experienced complications from recent breast reduction surgery.
The city received a harassment complaint against Carpenter on March 13, 2019. He was placed on administrative leave and announced his retirement a few days later. Carpenter had been with Draper police since 2003 and was the face of the department for several years as its spokesman. Criminal charges were filed on April 30, 2019.
On Wednesday, after years of drawn out court proceedings, a jury found Carpenter not guilty on both counts.
A court docket states it took 54 minutes from the time the jury began deliberating until the verdict was read. But Evershed says the jury actually took less time than that to reach its decision.
"Chad Carpenter has been vindicated by a thoughtful and impartial jury of his peers. Evidence was presented through several witnesses over two days, including by Mr. Carpenter who testified. After the presentation of all the evidence and argument, it took the jury less than 30 minutes of deliberations to make their unanimous voice known that Chad Carpenter was not guilty," he said.
