Man arrested on 8 counts of failure to register as a sex offender
- Travis Uresk
- Jan 6, 2025
- 2 min read
By Travis Uresk
1/6/25
| Vernal, Ut. | December 31st, 2024 |
Deputy Simmons was informed by Adult Probation and Parole (AP&P) that one of their parolees was non-compliant with their Utah Sex Offender Registry.
The AP&P Agent stated during the home compliance check of 26-year-old Richard Eugene Rasmussen they found on his cellphone multiple social media applications that were not listed on his sex offender registry.
Because Richard is on parole with AP&P and his probation agreement, he has to allow his APP Agent or other designated Law Enforcement Officer to examine his probation agreement.
After AP&P had completed their compliance check, they took custody of Richard's cellphone and informed the Uintah County Sheriff's Office of the potential violation.
Deputy Simmons wrote a search warrant for Richard's cellphone and all of the data stored on the device. The warrant was approved to download and examine the phone's stored data.
During the deputy's examination of Richard's cellphone, he located seven social media apps and one email address on which Richard had made accounts using a variation of his legal name. The data also showed that Richard had recently used these apps to message other accounts.
After searching Richard's phone, Deputy Simmons interviewed him and read him his rights, to which he agreed to speak with the officer. Richard was questioned about the social media apps and email accounts found on his phone.
Richard explained all of the applications and the email address to the deputy and his extended use of the apps over several years. He also explained that he understood the requirements of his registry and that after obtaining any new social media applications, he had three business days to update his sex offender registry.
Richard Rasmussen was booked into the Uintah County Jail for the charges below. All eight counts will be enhanced to a Felony 3 due to Richard's original conviction, which placed him on the Sex Offender Registry, was a Felony.
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