CACHE COUNTY, Utah — A 74-year-old Utah grandmother has been arrested on multiple child sexual abuse charges, some dating back decades, according to the Cache County Sheriff's Office.
Ruth Worthen faces 15 charges of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child and 3 charges of Object Rape of a Child.
The sheriff's office began an investigation into Worthen in March 2023 after hearing allegations from four victims.
One of Worthen's alleged victims said the sexual abuse occurred in 2002 when she was around 3 years old and Worthen was watching her while the victim's parents were in the hospital for the birth of another child.
According to the victim, Worthen would touch her genital area and said "something about being excited to do this in the future to [the victim's] new baby [child]."
On another occasion, the victim said Worthen led to her a room where a man came in and rubbed his penis on her.
'[The victim] spoke extensively of Ruth's manipulation, physical abuse and threats toward her to keep her from telling anyone about the ongoing abuse. [The victim] described that she remembered Ruth saying something about how she would cut off [the victim's] arms one by one, chop them into pieces and then bury them separately in the yard," the arrest report states.
Another victim recalled similar incidents of abuse and threats.
According to the arrest report, Worthen denied some of the behavior she was accused of, while not denying other allegations.
"She appeared to deflect questions and attempted to shift blame onto others (sic) individuals," the report said.
The sheriff's office said it believes there are other individuals who were abused by Worthen and are asking them to contact the department at (435) 755-1212.
