WALLSBURG – Utah County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Wallsburg man who they say sexually assaulted an eight-year-old boy on a hunting trip on Mount Timpanogos.
Prosecutors have charged 59-year-old Arthur Jepperson with aggravated sexual abuse of a child and tampering with a witness.
Authorities say Jepperson touched the victim on his backside over his clothing. Jepperson is also accused of attempting to touch the boy under his pants. Other people in the hunting party were not in the room at the time.
Jepperson pinched the boy so hard that the boy wanted to cry, according to the affidavit of probable cause. Prosecutors say the suspect told the boy that he wouldn’t be taken hunting anymore and threatened to fire the boy’s father if he ever spoke up.
Deputies say he had forced the victim to lie down and take a nap with him at Jepperson’s home in Wallsburg before the trip last year.
The victim has received treatment for physical and emotional issues tied to the assault.
Jepperson has denied ever being alone with the victim.
The court set his bail at $30,000.