37-year-old man accused of sexually exploiting 17-year-old girl at Cedar City Hotel – St George News

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Cedar City – Translation for “Cedar City” in German A 37-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after he allegedly admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a Cedar City hotel in early May.

Vernon Ross was booked into the Iron County Detention Center shortly after midnight Saturday. He is charged with five counts of sexual abuse of a minor (a second-degree felony), sexual abuse of a 16- or 17-year-old (a third-degree felony) and two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol and tobacco products to minors.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Ross was the alleged recipient of several phone calls from the 17-year-old girl who had been reported as a runaway.

“The juvenile had made several phone calls to Vernon Ross (a 37-year-old man) prior to her escape,” the investigating Cedar City police officer wrote in the affidavit. “We had reason to believe she was with him. Vernon contacted me several days after she was found and informed me that he had been with her that night.”

According to the affidavit, Ross told police he met the girl in early May through an online adult dating app and exchanged numerous sexually explicit images through Snapchat.

“(Ross) stated that he believed she was 18, but when he found out on Monday that she 17, he filmed and screenshotted their entire Snapchat conversation, including the child sexual abuse material,” the officer wrote in the probable cause statement.

The investigator also wrote that Ross allegedly admitted to having consensual sex with the teenager in a hotel room in Cedar City.

“At the time, he believed she was 18, but due to the 20-year age difference, that fact is not relevant,” the officer wrote.

Ross also admitted to drinking alcohol and giving the girl a nicotine e-cigarette, the affidavit states.

Ross, who is being held without bail in the Iron County Jail, made his initial appearance before 5th District Judge Jeffrey C. Wilcox on Tuesday. His next appearance is a roll call hearing on June 18.

This report is based on testimony from court documents and law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or until a trial judge determines otherwise.

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