SAN FRANCISCO — US Marshals arrested a man who has been on the run since 2016, when the Layton Police Department formally charged him with sodomy, aggravated sexual abuse and object rape of a child.
Brian Helton moved from Chicago to Utah and was staying with a family friend in Layton when investigators say he began exploiting a child who lived down the hall from where Helton was staying. An official report stated Helton sexually abused the child on at least two separate occasions over a two-week period. The victim told parents what was going on, prompting Helton to flee Utah and return to Chicago, after which US Marshals from the District of Utah became involved.
The hunt for Helton soon became a two-year international investigation. Helton was discovered to be living in Thailand, but he fled again to Japan after suspecting the Royal Thai Police were close to apprehending him. The official report said Helton went to Japan as part of an attempt to sneak back into the United States.
Early in the afternoon of September 19, Japanese officials reached out to US Marshals Service through Interpol and let them know Helton was boarding a direct flight from Japan to San Francisco. When Helton arrived at the San Francisco airport, he was greeted by US Marshals, the Department of Homeland Security and United States Customs and Border Patrol Agents.
The official statement said Helton was “surprised, and quickly taken into custody without further incident.”
At the conclusion of the investigation, US Marshal Matthew D. Harris said, “Time may pass, but deputy US Marshals never quit until we find our man.”
