‘Ritual’ sex abuse case: Judge dismisses charges against a central suspect after police and prosecutors withheld key evidence

In a rare move, a Utah judge has dismissed some criminal charges — for good — against a central suspect in the Utah County Sheriff’s Office investigation into decades-old allegations of satanic ritual sex abuse.

Fourth District Judge Roger Griffin on Thursday dismissed six felony sex abuse charges that prosecutors had filed against former therapist David Hamblin, stemming from allegations that he had sexually abused a girl who lived in his neighborhood in the 1980s. The judge tossed the case after finding that police and prosecutors withheld key evidence that could have helped Hamblin’s defense.

Judges at times will dismiss charges in criminal cases at a prosecutor’s request when issues come up with evidence or other challenges are made, but usually a judge will allow the case to be re-filed in the future.

But Griffin on Thursday instead ordered that Hamblin’s charges be dismissed with prejudice, meaning that the charges can’t be brought again. Griffin noted in his 34-page ruling that it’s “rarely appropriate” for a judge to dismiss a case and not allow the chance for prosecutors to re-file it. But he said it was deserved here because it wouldn’t be possible for Hamblin to get a fair trial.

“This case is unusual for the quantity and quality of prosecutorial missteps that amount to more than a lack of preparedness by the prosecutor or garden-variety delays or mishandling a case …” Griffin wrote. “In short, this is that ‘rare’ case where dismissal with prejudice is warranted.”

Defense attorney Leah Aston said in response to the judge’s ruling: “Mr. Hamblin appreciates the judge’s thoughtful, detailed, and thorough ruling, which unmasks and recognizes serious missteps in this case over several years.”

Not a ‘technicality’

The withheld evidence at the center of the case’s dismissal was a police report that Utah County Sheriff’s Office investigators had created after interviewing the alleged victim in September 2022.

According to court papers filed by Hamblin’s defense attorneys, the alleged victim in that interview “recounts in great detail” sex crimes that took place under the guise of a “satanic ritual” at a room in a local church. There was also some question, Griffin wrote in his ruling, about whether these allegations relied on “recovered memories” from therapy sessions — a controversial form of psychotherapy, according to the American Psychological Association.

This document was not turned over to Hamblin’s attorneys until the case had been pending for more than two years, and after a new prosecutor hired by the attorney general’s office took over the case. The criminal justice system requires police and prosecutors to give all evidence to a defendant, particularly anything that would help them defend themselves in court. But that didn’t happen in this case — and it’s not clear why the report was not given to Hamblin when the charges were initially filed two years earlier.

But Hamblin’s defense attorneys noted in a court filing that the report counters statements made by previous prosecutors on the case, who asserted that Hamblin’s alleged crimes were “not in the context of a satanic child abuse cult” but instead took place “in his own homes with perhaps only family members present.”

The revelation that this report had been withheld led to further evidence disclosures, including a 24-page report from Juab County — who helped investigate and prosecute the case — that outlined this alleged victim’s additional statements.

The Juab County report also included details of other interviews with those who knew the alleged victim and who “refute and dispel” allegations, according to a court filing from the defense, including an accusation that Hamblin “implanted or encouraged false memories of abuse in therapy.” That report, the defense said, cast doubt on the accusers’ credibility.

The judge wrote that an expert hired by Hamblin’s defense team had opined that the “ritual satanic sex abuse context of this case is a key weakness.” But that opinion lacked the strength it might have, the judge wrote, if there was more evidence to show that such abuse was part of the investigation. The police report that the state delayed to turn over “corroborated that a ritual satanic sex abuse allegation was in fact directly relevant to this case,” Griffin said. Knowing that, the judge said, could have led to the case being dismissed much earlier.

Griffin added in his ruling that what led to the dismissal was not a mere “technicality,” and it was not a decision he made lightly.

“Allegations like the ones raised in this case require careful scrutiny,” Griffin wrote. “Sexual abuse is abhorrent and elicits a sense of deep horror and revulsion. However, it is our respect for fundamental rights protected by our constitutions that requires that a criminally accused defendant be given a fair trial.”

A sergeant with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that there was no one working in the office who could respond to a reporter’s questions.

Other charges still pending

Hamblin’s legal issues haven’t entirely gone away, though. He still faces six child sex abuse charges in a separate case filed in Manti, where prosecutors allege he abused a young patient in therapy sessions.

His ex-wife, Roselle Stevenson, has also been charged in connection to the allegations from their former neighbor. Her attorneys have also filed a motion to dismiss, referencing the evidentiary issues in Hamblin’s case which was dismissed.

Prosecutors’ attempt to bring charges against Hamblin has faced a number of challenges, starting in late May 2022, when the Utah County Sheriff’s Office announced it had reopened an investigation into ritual sex abuse.

While the sheriff’s office did not say who they were investigating, then-Utah County Attorney David Leavitt told reporters at a subsequent news conference that he and others were being targeted, and accused Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith and others of dredging up years-old, unverified witness statements that accused Leavitt, Hamblin and others of “cannibalizing young children” and participating in a “ritualistic” sex ring.

Leavitt, who was running for another term as county attorney that year, said that he believed those witness statements were being recirculated to hurt his chances of reelection.

Leavitt lost the election to the current county attorney, Jeff Gray — but because Leavitt spoke publicly about the case while still the elected county attorney, a judge barred the Utah County Attorney’s Office from prosecuting Hamblin’s case. Juab County Attorney Ryan Peters ended up filing three separate cases stemming from Utah County Sheriff’s Office investigation: two against Hamblin and one against his ex-wife.

But in October 2023, Peters was appointed to be a judge — and the now-dismissed Utah County case was momentarily without a prosecutor. Gray tried to take over, but Griffin wouldn’t allow it, agreeing with the defense that there was a possible conflict, since Gray ran a successful campaign to replace Leavitt and Leavitt had claimed the investigation was politically motivated.

So the Utah Attorney General’s Office hired an outside prosecutor, Nathan Evershed, to step in. Last month, he asked Griffin to dismiss the charges, telling the judge that he had reviewed the case and determined there was not a “reasonable likelihood” he could secure a conviction.

The Utah County Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the judge’s ruling; Juab County prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.