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SOUTH OGDEN — Police believe an 11-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Monday was sexually abused by his alleged kidnapper.
Weston Ray Kubbe, 37, of Murray, was booked into the Weber County Jail early Tuesday for investigation of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, two counts of enticing or luring a minor over the internet, and child kidnapping.
Bail was set at $200,000.
On Monday, South Ogden police believe Kubbe convinced a young boy to sneak out of his room. The boy's father found a note on his son's pillow in the morning stating, "I love you and I appreciate everything you've done, and I'm OK and I'll be back soon. Unless you call 911, then I won't be back."
Police say Kubbe and the 11-year-old had engaged in enough online conversations to fill at least 478 pages.
An Amber Alert was issued early Monday afternoon. By 4 p.m., the boy was found at an electronics store in Murray and Kubbe was in custody.
South Ogden Police Sgt. Will Dehart said Tuesday that detectives believe Kubbe was instructing or coaching the boy on what to say to his parents to avoid detection.
"The individual that found him was able to manipulate him in a way that was just horrific," the sergeant said. "Even when we (parents) try to do what we're supposed to do, the predators can still sneak in and it's very scary and you just have to be vigilant about it."
Investigators spent a large portion of Monday night examining the "extensive" conversations Kubbe had online with the boy, Dehart said. He declined to get into specifics about what was said or what social media platform the two used to communicate with each other.
"If it were my daughters, I would be alarmed," was all he would say Monday.
Dehart said detectives have a "mountain of information" to comb through, which includes determining whether there are potentially other victims.
Kubbe's adult criminal history in the Utah courts system is minimal. He was convicted of an amended charge of attempted burglary in 2002 and was originally given probation. He was later ordered to serve his original six-month sentence after he did not successfully complete probation.
Kubbe filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in federal court in May, according to court records, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013.
Kubbe was previously employed by the Murray School District as a grant employee from 2001-07 at Liberty Elementary, according to the district. From 2007-12 he was a substitute teacher. District officials say he passed all background checks and eventually left on his own.
He was currently employed at the Utah Department of Technology Services, where he specializes in desktop support, the department confirmed. Kubbe previously worked as a technician at information technology company Unisys.
Contributing: Ladd Egan, Eric Morgan
