A Helper city councilman has been formally charged with burglary and forcible sexual abuse of his neighbor — along with intoxication and lying to authorities.
The charges stem from a June 10 incident when Darren Vaughn Cloward, 49, entered his neighbor’s house “uninvited” and “made some suggestive statements about her and her swimsuit," according to a probable cause statement. The neighbor told police Cloward later entered her home a second time, went downstairs to her bedroom while she was changing and “touched her breast through the bed sheets.”
Police said Cloward admitted he went into his neighbor’s house twice but denied he went downstairs or groped her. However, his daughter told police she saw him “go downstairs after coming into the house.”
Cloward was charged in Seventh District Court with forcible sexual abuse and burglary, second-degree felonies; obstructing justice, a Class A misdemeanor; and intoxication, a Class C misdemeanor. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 5.
Cloward was selected to fill an open position by other members of the city council in 2018; his term expires in January 2020. Helper is a town of about 2,100 residents located approximately 110 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and 7 miles northwest of Price.
