Police arrest 7 men accused of attempting to meet boys, girls for sex
ST. GEORGE — Seven men who were arrested in Washington County during a five-day undercover operation have been charged with attempting to set up a rendezvous with a minor for sex.
The men have been charged in separate cases and have each faces a second-degree felony of enticing a minor through electronic means. According to court records, the men believed they were either speaking to a juvenile boy or girl online who were actually undercover agents.
The operation took place between Nov. 14-18 with court records related to the resulting arrests sealed by the 5th District Court at the request of the Washington County Attorney’s Office until the operation concluded.
“Undercover officers will be conducting a large series of sting operations designed to identify individuals suspected of violating Utah laws targeting child enticements and sexual exploitation of minors,” Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan Shaum wrote in the motion requesting court records be temporarily sealed so ongoing investigations wouldn’t be jeopardized.
The operation was conducted by the Utah Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Because aspects of the operation are subject to ongoing investigations, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office would not comment on details related to the arrests and referred St. George News to the Utah Attorney General’s Office. A call to the office was not returned by the time of publication.
The suspects involved in the operation were arrested by authorities when they reached the locations where they thought they were meeting with a juvenile. Each was charged with a second-degree felony related to enticing a minor. Two of the men received additional charges as noted below.
The suspects are:
- Robert Reed Nuzman, 58, of Hurricane.
- Kraig Atkin Powell, 25, of St. George.
- John Spange, 61, of St. George.
- Ted Anthony Summerhays, 58, of Santa Clara.
- Harry Leonard Taylor, 41, of Cedar City.
- Ross Robert Woolsey, 49, of Hurricane. He was charged with an additional felonies for enticing a minor and dealing in harmful materials to a minor.
- James Allen Wynhoff, 36, of Las Vegas, faces additional felony and a misdemeanor related to drug possession and drug paraphernalia.
Email: mkessler@stgnews.com
Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.