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SALT LAKE CITY — The former president of Salt Lake Figure Skating, who is also a youth teacher at his church, has been charged with trying to solicit sex from a teenager.
Matthew Gregory Shepard, 45, of Murray, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with criminal solicitation, a first-degree felony; five counts of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and sexual exploitation of a minor, a third-degree felony.
Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 13, Shepard, using the online name “fundaddy,” engaged in a conversation with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl, according to charging documents. Shepard sent several sexually explicit messages to the undercover officer and expressed his desire to have sex with the “girl,” the charges state.
After his arrest, Shepard “acknowledged his interest in 12- 13-year-old females,” according to charging documents.
Shepard was the president of Salt Lake Figure Skating, which bills itself as “Utah’s premier competitive figure skating club,” and “is a primary teacher in church,” charging documents state.
The organization said in a statement that it became aware of the criminal allegations against Shepard earlier this month.
Shepard stepped down as president of the club on Sept. 1 and resigned from the board of Salt Lake Figure Skating on Nov. 14, according to the organization. The statement did not include Shepard’s reasons for stepping down from his role as president.
The nonprofit says it is the “home club” of Olympic skaters Nathan Chen and Angela Wang and “supports figure skaters of all ages and levels and offers opportunities for exhibition, competition and testing to skaters.”
Shepard did not work directly with children as president of the club, current President Robert Walton-Steadman said.
U.S. Figure Skating suspended Shepard’s membership on Dec. 4.
A $500,000 warrant was issued Monday for Shepard’s arrest.
