Cache County grandmother arrested, charged with sexual abuse of children over 30

LOGAN, Utah (KUTV) — A 74-year-old grandmother was held in Cache County Jail after investigators said she “sexually abused” children for decades.

The woman was identified as Ruth Worthen.

“These allegations span approximately 30 years and reportedly occurred at various locations in Cache County,” said Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi of the Cache County Sheriff’s Office. “The allegations suggest that additional individuals were victims of Ms. Worthen.”

Bartschi said investigators have been examining “numerous allegations” against Worthen for more than a year.

2News asked why the arrest took so long.

“This is a complex case. The people were much younger when the abuse occurred,” said Bartschi. “There was still a lot to do.”

The sheriff’s office asked additional “victims to identify themselves” and asked anyone with additional information to come forward.

“We simply don’t know how many (victims) there are left,” Bartschi said.

Worthen was charged with 15 counts of aggravated child abuse and several counts of child molestation and sodomy.