A retired police officer, who was once the face of his department, has been sentenced to 120 days for unlawful sexual contact with a teenage boy.
Aaron Rosen, 48, was given credit for the almost 2 1/2 months he has served in jail since his conviction, a court docket shows. On May 3, a Provo jury convicted Rosen of two counts of unlawful sexual contact with a 16- or 17-year-old.
One count was Utah’s lowest-grade of felony; the other was Utah’s highest-grade of misdemeanor. Then, at a July 16 sentencing hearing, 4th District Court Judge James Brady dismissed the misdemeanor count. Defense lawyers had argued that count amounted to convicting Rosen twice for one act.
Rosen was once the spokesman for Saratoga Springs’ police force. He was demoted in 2011 after dropping his pants in front of a female co-worker and then displaying “conduct unbecoming of an officer.” Rosen retired in the summer of 2017.
| 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.
Days later, he was arrested in the unlawful sex case. A father in Utah County reported coming home and seeing a man run out of the house. The father’s 16-year-old son had been inside.
Rosen later told KUTV that he met the teen via Grindr, a dating app that requires users to be 18 or older. Rosen also wrote on Facebook that he had been "catfished” by the teen, who’d pretended to be a 23-year-old full-time college student who lived with roommates.
Before sentencing, about a half-dozen people wrote Brady asking leniency for Rosen. The supporters included family, former law enforcement and people Rosen aided during his time as a police officer.
“In my opinion,” wrote Jeff DeJong, who has worked as a deputy constable and reserve officer with Utah Adult Probation and Parole, “Aaron is in no way a sexual predator or [has] the criminal intent and mindset I’ve learned and observed over the years of working in law enforcement. Aaron made a mistake and is wanting to move on with his life as quickly as possible.”
The felony conviction could have sent Rosen to prison for up to five years. Instead, Brady sentenced him to the 120 days in jail, 36 months of probation and a $950 fine. Rosen also must register as a sex offender.
Rosen also has worked as a DJ on K-Bull 93 under the name “Coyote McCoy.”
