A suspect charged with 10 felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor recently was arrested in St. George.
Kenneth Merlin Richens, 60, of Nephi, was booked into jail in Washington County on Thursday facing 10 second-degree felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. Charges were filed by Assistant Utah Attorney General Carl Hollan, according to charging documents filed in 4th District Court in Juab County last week.
The suspect was arrested in St. George on May 4 just hours after the no-bail warrant was issued, according to court records.
Homeland Security Investigation agents received information in March indicating that Richens was involved in “sex tourism,” according to the affidavit filed in support of the suspect’s arrest issued last week.
In the affidavit, Homeland Security Investigator Holden Fielding defined sexual tourism as “criminal conduct that takes place when a person travels to another country or nation where children are commonly trafficked for sexual abuse for the purpose of sexually abusing the children living in those nations.”
Fielding noted that evidence emerged indicating that Richens had gone to the Philippines 49 times since 2011. Agents determined the suspect had traveled to other southeastern Asian countries known to be associated with sex tourism, including Thailand and Cambodia.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.
