American Fork man faces sex abuse charges after young girl is found hiding in his car

TAYLORSVILLE — An American Fork man is facing multiple criminal charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a young girl he met on social media.

And police say there could be additional victims.

Derek James Jones, 31, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with two counts of sodomy on a child, two counts of object rape of a child, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and child kidnapping, first-degree felonies; two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; and two counts of unlawful kissing of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

The investigation began when a Taylorsville police officer spotted an SUV in a parking lot near 4800 South and 870 West on Dec. 15. The officer followed the vehicle to an apartment complex after the driver appeared to speed away from him, according to charging documents.

When the officer caught up with the vehicle, the driver was gone, but it appeared someone was still inside under some blankets, the charges state.

“He also observed ‘a piece of human skin and a shirt,’ at which time he requested the occupant to open the door. (The officer) stated that after several requests, a young female, identified as a 12-year-old (girl), emerged from the blankets and appeared to be very ‘frantic, scared and emotional.’ As the female exited the vehicle, she stated that she thought she was ‘just kidnapped’ and didn’t know where she was,” charging documents state.

Jones was spotted walking a short distance away from the vehicle and was taken into custody.

When questioned, Jones told investigators that he “randomly added (the girl) on Snapchat approximately one month prior ‘when he was lonely,’ and they started chatting with each other,” the charges say. On Dec. 1, Jones said he “hung out” with the girl and “got intimate.”

The same thing happened on Dec. 15, according to charging documents.

Jones told police “he should have known better, and expressed remorse for his actions; however, a search of the defendant’s Snapchat account showed that he had been chatting and meeting up with other minors throughout the valley. Law enforcement has identified at least one additional minor victim; however, the investigation is ongoing, which could result in additional charges,” the court documents allege.

“Furthermore, law enforcement located a conversation between (Jones) and (the) victim where he asked her if she would run away to Georgia with him.”