A former Saratoga Springs police officer has been charged with having unlawful sexual contact with a 16-year-old boy.
Aaron David Rosen, 46, of South Jordan, was charged Wednesday in 4th District Court with one count of class A misdemeanor unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, after he went to the teen’s home last week, kissed him and touched the teen inappropriately over his clothing.
Court documents say Rosen met the teen online, that the conversations ”turned sexual in nature, and the two agreed to meet.” The teen told police that Rosen had requested to meet in person and came to his home on July 27. At the teen’s home, Rosen allegedly kissed him and laid on top of the teen, while touching him over his clothing, including in his private area, the teen told police.
The teen told police that Rosen had begun to remove his own clothes and was attempting to remove the teen’s clothes when the teen’s father returned home.
Rosen “ran through a screen door and jumped off the second-floor balcony,” the teen and his father told police, but the father obtained Rosen‘s license plate number and a description of the man.
Both the teen and his father identified Rosen in a photo line up, court documents say.
Rosen admitted to police that he had touched the teen over his clothing while the two were making out, but denied knowing that the teen was underage, documents say.
In an interview with KUTV, Rosen said he met the teen via Grindr, a dating app that requires users to be 18 years or older.
In a Facebook post that has since been removed, but was obtained by KUTV, Rosen said he had been ”catfished” by the teenager, whom Rosen said had misrepresented himself online as a 23-year-old college student with roommates.
Rosen said in his post that the teen had reached out first and invited Rosen to his home while his so-called ”roommate” was at work. When the ”roommate” pulled up, the teen told Rosen he had to run and to “get out over the balcony.”
Rosen has not responded to a request for comment.
His first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Provo.
| Tribune file photo In this May 8, 2008, file photo, Aaron D. Rosen, of the Saratoga Springs Police Department, talks about officers losing their lives in the line of duty during the State of Utah Fallen Peace Officers' Memorial Service.
Rosen was demoted in 2011 after dropping his pants in front of a female co-worker and then displaying “conduct unbecoming of an officer.”
He retired from the Saratoga Springs police department about a month ago.
