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MIDVALE — A Midvale man, who police say is state employee, has been arrested and accused of engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl and exhibiting predatory behavior around other young girls.
Steven Allen Mayo, 50, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday for investigation of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, three counts of child endangerment, enticing a minor and sexual abuse of a minor.
Mayo is accused of befriending a homeless girl who had run away from the hotel room where she and her mother were staying, according to a police booking affidavit.
"She was approached by the arrestee while sitting on the curb. ... The arrestee asked her if she wanted to get high and she advised him that she was 14. She advised that she left with him and went back to his residence," the affidavit states.
The two had sex at Mayo's residence, and on another day, Mayo picked up the girl and her friend from school and provided them with marijuana at his house, according to the affidavit.
After police were called, they conducted a search of the girl's phone and reported finding sexual messages between her and Mayo.
"In my training and experience, these conversations were consistent with typical grooming and predatory behavior exhibited by individuals who prey upon child victims," the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
The teen told police that Mayo had told her "that he liked younger girls and the youngest he had been with was 13 years old. He also advised her that he would drive naked to the cafe across from Cottonwood High School and watch the girls. The arrestee also stated to (the girl) that he wanted to take night classes at Cottonwood High School so he could find a girl there," the affidavit alleges.
"This arrestee has confessed to the victim and exhibited multiple predatory behavior that is a clear and present danger to minors and children. The arrestee is also a state employee working for the payroll division," police noted.
