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FLOODLIT is gathering information in this developing case.
Please check back daily for updates.
Mitch McKee, a Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office admin services director, was arrested on March 21, 2024 and was under investigation for child sexual exploitation and enticing a minor.
McKee is a retired Utah Highway Patrol officer and a licensed therapist with experience treating “pre and post mission sexual issues.
A Mormon church member who worked for 20 years as a Utah Highway Patrol officer was arrested Wed, Mar. 20 for investigation of human trafficking of a child, forcible sodomy, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticing a minor and dealing in materials harmful to minors.
He has not been formally charged of a crime yet, as far as we’re aware. A check in the Utah Xchange court records system earlier today did not bring up any records. We’re still trying to get a copy of the police probable cause affidavit.
At the time of his arrest on Wed, Mar. 20, the accused was the administrative services director for Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office.
He was recently listed as a licensed marriage and family therapist on the website of a Provo-based mental health counseling practice, which described him as follows (we’ve bolded a bit of text):
“[The accused] is a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and is passionate about treating issues involving marriage and family conflict and distress, marital infidelity and the associated betrayal trauma. He also is adapt at treating sexual addictions including pornography, masturbation and hyper sexuality along with pre and post mission sexual issues including sexual orientation concerns, sexual-religious identity conflicts and the associated emotional issues. […] He is easy to talk to and confide in.”
In a press release, the WCSO said that “The severity and seriousness of the alleged offenses cannot be overstated […] We understand the Attorney General’s investigation to be ongoing and the Sheriff’s Office will continue to fully cooperate.” (source)
The accused was also recently listed as a therapist at Covenant Sex Therapy, whose website says it “caters to the sexual needs of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Some case timeline events:
- The accused served an LDS mission to Costa Rica from 1984 to 1986, where he was a district leader and zone leader.
- He was married in an LDS temple in 1988.
- According to the accused’s LinkedIn profile, he worked for the Utah Highway Patrol from 1988 to 2008.
- As of 2004, the accused worked in the Utah Department of Public Safety’s criminal intelligence center.
- March 21, 2024: McKee was arrested.
Other former Utah police officers accused of sex crimes they allegedly perpetrated while active in the LDS church:
- Retired police officer in American Fork, Utah; arrested in August 2023 and charged with 11 felony counts related to child sexual exploitation.
- Utah Highway Patrol trooper; alleged rapist of a 13-year-old girl.
- LDS bishop and retired Utah Highway Patrol sergeant; pleaded guilty in 2001 to two third degree felony counts of attempted forcible sexual abuse; pleaded guilty in 2002 to one second degree felony count of sex abuse of a child.
A source familiar with McKee’s case told FLOODLIT there were at least five victims. The source asked to remain anonymous.
If you know anything about this case, please contact FLOODLIT.
Sources
Source details
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Wasatch County sheriff's employee arrested for alleged sex acts with minor
Publisher: KSL
Date: 21 Mar 2024
Archive.org
Source type: News articleHEBER CITY — A Wasatch County Sheriff's Office employee has been arrested for alleged sexual crimes involving a minor.
Mitchell McKee, 58, the administrative services director for Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of human trafficking of a child, forcible sodomy, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticing a minor and dealing in materials harmful to minors.
Heber City police stopped a car in Wasatch County on Jan. 4 for a traffic violation. The adult driver admitted the 15-year-old juvenile in the passenger seat was with him "for the purpose of sex," a police booking affidavit says.
"The juvenile was promised nicotine vape pens in exchange for sex acts with the adult male," the affidavit says.
Police interviewed the teen at the Wasatch County Children's Justice Center, where they say he disclosed that he meets up with adult men for sexual favors in exchange for nicotine vapes. The teen explained he was meeting up with adults every other week, and he met them through a social media platform called Sniffies which is known for casual sexual hook-ups, the affidavit says.
The document went on to say the juvenile explained after he initially connected on social media, he would communicate with the adults over one of two other social media apps. He told police he met up with the man from the traffic stop and another who called himself Doug Gentry.
Police said during the interview, the juvenile told them he had sent nude photos to Gentry and had met up with him at the rodeo grounds parking lot, Soldier Hollow Golf Course and by the train tracks. He said Gentry would pick him up in a black Jeep, take him to a location and tell him to take off his clothes, the affidavit says; the juvenile also allegedly said he participated in sex acts with Gentry.
Mitchell McKee is listed as a licensed marriage and family therapist on Whole Person Counseling's website. McKee, also an employee of the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of sex crimes involving a minor.
Mitchell McKee is listed as a licensed marriage and family therapist on Whole Person Counseling's website. McKee, also an employee of the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of sex crimes involving a minor. (Photo: thewholepersoncounseling.com)Heber City detectives searched the teen's cellphone and found messages between him and Gentry and located social media user information associated with Gentry. Through search warrants, detectives identified an IP address for Gentry and geolocated it to an address in Heber City where the subscriber was identified as McKee.
While investigating McKee, police found he has a black Jeep and matched a physical description the teen gave them of Gentry. The police booking affidavit says he is an employee at the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office and is a mental health counselor at a practice in Provo.
McKee is listed as a licensed marriage and family therapist on Whole Person Counseling's website and Covenant Sex Therapy's page. His biography on the Covenant Sex Therapy page says he is "skilled in treating sexual addictions, including concerns related to pornography, masturbation, hypersexuality, and pre- and post-mission sexual issues."
McKee was booked into the Davis County Jail.
A statement from the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office said McKee's job was a civilian non-certified position that oversaw three other non-certified employees, set appointments and processed citizen requests for reports.
"The severity and seriousness of the alleged offenses cannot be overstated," the office said in the statement.
The sheriff's office said it was unaware of McKee's allegations until he was arrested, and that he has been suspended until an investigation by the Utah Attorney General's Office is completed.
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