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UPDATED: Ogden school resource officer arrested for alleged sexual exploitation of minor

By Rob Nielsen - | Oct 25, 2024

Jacob Scholl, Standard-Examiner file photo

An Ogden Police Department patrol car is shown in 2018 in Ogden.

OGDEN — An Ogden City Police Department school resource officer was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegations of misconduct were discovered and investigated.

A press release sent late Thursday evening claims the department learned last week that officer Colten Johansen had “made a series of disclosures to an outside law enforcement agency which implicated his involvement in criminal conduct.”

“Upon learning of these disclosures, a criminal case was immediately opened and referred to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office,” the release said. “Earlier this afternoon, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office arrested Officer Johansen on several criminal charges, including sexual exploitation of a minor, tampering with evidence, and official misconduct. We have and will continue to fully cooperate with their investigation.”

According to booking records, Johansen is being held in the Davis County Jail on $100,000 bond.

In the release, the officer is identified as “Colton Johansen” but Lt. William Farr later confirmed to the Standard-Examiner that the officer’s name is Colten.

The release adds that an internal affairs investigation also was launched.

“Based on the information currently available, the conduct in question did not occur while Officer Johansen was acting in his capacity as a School Resource Officer,” the release said. “Our investigation has nevertheless revealed sufficient information to warrant his termination.”

According to a probable cause affidavit, Johansen could face up to 10 charges of exploitation of a minor, along with the other suspected crimes, though formal charges had not been filed as of Friday afternoon.

The affidavit — identifying Johansen as “A/P” — states that the arrest and investigation stemmed from him taking a polygraph examination for a job involving school security.

“It was reported during the examination A/P disclosed incidents that are criminal in nature,” the affidavit says. “A/P disclosed taking a box of case files with him as a sworn law enforcement official. A/P stated the box was located at his residence in Huntsville, Utah. A/P further disclosed the case files contained images of both adults and children in various states of nudity.”

Per the affidavit, Johansen admitted to viewing the images for his own sexual satisfaction.

A search of the garage was executed Thursday.

“The search warrant was served and a box containing case files was recovered in the A/P’s garage,” the affidavit said. “Several CD’s, appearing to be forensic downloads from the Regional Computer Forensics Lab (RCFL), were located. A detective with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) reviewed several of the located disks and confirmed hundreds of images that contained Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). The CSAM discovered depicted children with ages ranging from, infants, pre-pubescent children, and post-pubescent minors.”

Jer Bates, director of communications for the Ogden School District, confirmed in an emailed statement to the Standard-Examiner on Friday that Johansen had been a resource officer in the district and had been based at Ogden High School.

“First and foremost, it is important to emphasize that there is currently no indication of any criminal activity involving Officer Johansen in connection with his role as a School Resource Officer at Ogden High School,” the statement said. “Our school remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students. Ogden Police Department has already replaced Officer Johansen with another school resource officer, and our counseling team is available to provide confidential support to any student or family who may have concerns or feel impacted by this situation.”

The statement adds that the district will continue to monitor the investigation as it continues.

“We respect the investigative process and appreciate the swift action taken by the Ogden Police Department in cooperating fully with authorities. While we understand that there may be questions and a desire for further details, we encourage everyone to refrain from speculation and to allow law enforcement to continue their work.

“Our priority remains the emotional and physical well-being of our students and employees, and we will continue to offer support to anyone distressed by this situation.”

Bates said messaging has been prepared to distribute to students and parents about the situation. He also emphasized that Johansen was not employed by the school district and Bates was unsure how long Johansen had been serving in the district.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

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