Counselor accused of sex with teen

1 Comment | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 16, 2009

A man accused of carrying on a monthslong sexual relationship last fall with a teenager in a school for troubled girls is in Tooele County jail facing seven felony charges.

Kaysville resident Jonathan Carver, 29, and his wife were both working as live-in counselors at the Alpine Academy in Erda during the man's alleged relationship with a 17-year-old female student starting in October 2008.

As house parents, Carver and his wife were responsible for looking after troubled girls, who were sent to the academy due to behavioral problems.

But according to a probable cause statement filed with 3rd District Court in Tooele, that relationship of trust turned sexual in October, with at least 20 encounters between Carver and the girl when his wife was away.

Academy staff was tipped off about the possible abuse after the girl completed the program and returned home. A parent called the academy with concern about Carver's continued contact with the girl.

Carver's cash-only bail is set at $100,000 on four counts of rape, two counts of forced sodomy and one charge of tampering with a witness.

-- Jacob Hancock