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HOOPER, Weber County — A Weber County man was arrested at the Salt Lake City International Airport Saturday and accused of sexually abusing three children in Roy over the span of four years.
Jack Eric Arnell, 35, of Hooper, was charged Monday with five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, seven counts of sodomy on a child, and three counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies.
In 2022, Arnell was investigated for child abuse allegations involving a different child in Clinton, but prosecutors determined they didn't have enough evidence to charge him, said Clinton Assistant Police Chief Matt Fawbush. Now with the new allegations and information, Fawbush says Clinton police are reopening that old case and an investigator is working with Roy police.
Both police agencies are coordinating with the Davis County Attorney's Office.
A woman reported earlier this month that her three children had been sexually abused by their landlord and someone she at one point had an intimate relationship with, according to charging documents.
The oldest child, 15, told investigators Arnell started sexually abusing him when he was 11 years old, and gave the child gifts including video games, a computer and money "as a way of keeping this activity secret," the charges state.
A 12-year-old girl told police Arnell did some "pretty wicked stuff to me and my siblings," and described incidents of sexual abuse while her mother was not home, according to the charges. A 10-year-old boy told investigators he had been sexually abused since he was 7.
When Arnell was arrested and booked into the Weber County Jail, he "admitted all of the behaviors described" by the three children, the charging documents allege.
Correction: A previous version stated Arnell was investigated in Clinton in 2020, but the investigation was in 2022.
