National Guardsman faces felony charges
By Greg Masse
Post Independent Staff
GLENWOOD SPRINGS – Spc. Lennon C. Park, the Utah National Guard soldier accused of having sex with a 12-year-old Glenwood Springs girl in Garfield County, faces two felony charges in 9th District Court.
Meanwhile, a redacted version of the arrest affidavit detailing Park’s alleged crimes was released in 9th District Court on Thursday. A redacted version has the name of the victim crossed out to protect their privacy.
The two felony charges listed on the arrest affidavit, sexual assault on a child and enticement of a child, were filed by the 9th District Attorney’s Office on May 3. The court first released records pertaining to the case on Thursday. Park’s bond on the charges is $100,000.
Park could face four to 12 years in prison, six years of probation and up to $1 million in fines if he’s found guilty.
Park, 27 (8/4/76), of Lehi, Utah, is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail on similar charges filed in Salt Lake City District Court. He is accused of having sex with two 14-year-old girls there. He is also being investigated by the FBI on possible child pornography violations.
The arrest affidavit, written by Garfield County Sheriff’s detective Timothy S. Fisher, has details on how Park is thought to have enticed the local girl and where he took her.
“During the course of the Internet relationship, Park and (the victim) met in Glenwood Springs and drove to the Colorado Mountain College turnoff on County Road 114,” the affidavit said.
That’s where Park allegedly had sex with the girl on Jan. 9, the affidavit said.
Park also is suspected of using the Internet to send naked pictures of himself to the girl and requesting she send naked pictures of her to him, which she did, the affidavit said.
The pictures of Park were found by the girl’s brother, who told their father about it, the affidavit said.
No court date has been set for Park because he remains in Salt Lake County Jail.
West Valley City, Utah, police detective Eric Anderson, a member of the state’s multi-jurisdictional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, cracked the case in March.
Anderson said he was first contacted by Park while posing as a teenage girl in an Internet chat room, eventually setting up a time and place to meet Park.
Park agreed to meet the girl at her purported junior high school during the school day on March 17, Anderson said, asking that she sneak out of school during class.
While Park was waiting outside the school, Anderson said he made a traffic stop on Park. Anderson said Park then confessed to having sex with the three underage girls.
On April 1, Park was arrested and charged with seven counts of forcible sex abuse and two counts of enticement of a minor. Since then, he’s been in a Salt Lake City jail on $250,000 bond.
Contact Greg Masse: 945-8515, ext. 511
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