OGDEN -- A 41-year-old Salt Lake City man was arrested Friday after police say he fled prosecution after being charged with child kidnapping in 2003.
According to court documents, Brent Dee Unsworth began living in an Ogden family's basement apartment in 2003. Unsworth told the family he was a registered sex offender stemming from a 1991 case, but he told the family he had a relationship with a 17-year-old male. He later admitted the boy was 12 when the relationship began.
While living in the basement, Unsworth befriended a 12-year-old boy who lived in the home.
According to court documents, Unsworth took the boy out of school several times, taking him shopping, out to breakfast, and to a home in West Valley City to play video games. "He would remove (the boy) from school on numerous occasions, taking him to Salt Lake (City,)" said Ogden Lt. Scott Conley. "Basically grooming him for a relationship is what it appears to be."
The boy told police that Unsworth would give him candy and money and tell him not to tell his parents about the gifts. He also told police he found a picture he had drawn that Unsworth had found and wrote "I love you" on.
Charging documents indicate that when Unsworth took the boy to a home in West Valley, he took photos of the boy and asked him to unbutton his shirt but the boy refused.
Conley said there was no indication that the relationship between the two was romantic or sexual, and charging documents said the boy told police Unsworth made him uncomfortable when driving because he would place his hand on the boy's upper thigh.
"The initial investigation showed there was no sexual contact," Conley said.
"He took him without parental consent, so kidnapping charges were filed."
The boy's parents learned Unsworth took the boy out of school because his mother went to the school to pick up her son early and he wasn't there.
After asking the boy about where he had been, he said he was with Unsworth. They reported the incident to police shortly after.
Conley said although the investigation began in 2003, Unsworth was not located until Friday, when he was arrested by probation officers. He was booked into Weber County Jail for suspicion of felony child kidnapping.
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