UTAH COUNTY, Utah — The Utah County Sheriff's Office has released a statement saying the department was shocked at a recent decision to dismiss charges against a man accused of sexual assault against a girl who was "6 or 7 years old" in the mid-1980s.
David Hamblin faced six felony charges in Utah County before they were dismissed with prejudice due to discovery issues.
Fox 13 Investigates
Sex assault charges dropped against former therapist due to discovery issues
Hamblin was a licensed therapist known for using hypnotism and peyote during his sessions. Investigators say his license was revoked long before his arrest "due to allegations that he sexually abused his client(s)."
However, at a February hearing, defense attorneys claimed they were not given access to a key piece of evidence in an interview with the alleged victim.
The withheld evidence is particularly noteworthy to the case because prosecutors initially stated the alleged sexual abuse was "not in the context of a satanic child abuse cult."
According to defense attorneys, the withheld interview showed the victim describing what allegedly occurred in great detail.
In a release Thursday, the Utah County Sheriff's Office said they were shocked to learn about the court's dismissal of the charges.
"The Utah County Sheriff's Office disputes several of the alleged facts that the court included as support for this outcome in its Ruling and Order," the office said.
According to the sheriff's office, they had anticipated the court would resolve the issues with disclosure at an evidentiary hearing. Instead, they say, "... a careful examination of all the court records will clearly show that at no time were investigators nor the victim given the opportunity to present any evidence to the court to refute the defense allegations of delay and improper withholding of evidence."
The Utah County Sheriff's Office called the dismissal of charges "extremely concerning." The office added that they are committed to investigating sexual assault and all crimes against children, whether they occurred recently or years ago.
This is the second time a case has been dropped against Hamblin. He was previously charged with 18 counts of sexual abuse in 2012. Documents from that case showed police obtained a taped confession via an undercover recording. Still, prosecutors decided to drop the charges.
Hamblin continues to face a total of six sexual assault charges in Sanpete County. In that case, he was accused of sexually abusing a young boy patient.
"Between the years of 1990 through 1992 the defendant was a therapist providing counseling services out of his home in Spring City," wrote Sgt. Elyse Hines of the Utah County Sheriff's Office. "During those years, the defendant provided counseling services to the victim, who was between the ages of four and five years old."
