SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — A police report details an alleged incident involving an elderly man touching a young child inside a local grocery store.
The incident happened in Saratoga Springs in 2020. The report was obtained Monday by FOX 13 via a public records request.
FOX 13 is not identifying the man because he has not been charged with a crime. He allegedly grabbed a girl’s neck.
The responding officer found that no criminal activity took place.
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The police report indicates the officer told the man “not to touch other peoples [sic] kids.”
The man responded that “he loves kids and is always wanting to get a smile from them," according to the report.
This is not the only incident in which this man has made families uncomfortable.
A video recently sent to FOX 13 shows a parent confronting the same man after a similar incident that took place inside a grocery store in March.
“It’s very, very disturbing to me that more hasn’t been done,” said a parent of one of the girls who was touched. “He just gets a slap on the wrist and he is able to do it again.”
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Saratoga Springs Police say the man never crossed the line to criminal assault. In cases like this, officers use their best judgment when weighing the facts.
“We want to serve justice in the best way for all parties involved,” said Assistant Chief Bill Robertson of the Saratoga Springs Police Department. “We have to meet the elements in the state statutes that describe what a simple assault would be, what a sexual assault would be. If we can’t reach that point, we have to deal with where we are at that point.”
Police urge any people who feel they were victimized to come forward and file a police report. The more incidents that are documented help investigators zero in on individuals who may pose a more serious problem.
