Summary
Derek Lange was a Mormon church member and high school teacher and assistant high school football coach for El Capitan High School in Colorado City, Arizona.
In March 2025, Lange was arrested in Cedar City, Utah. Lange’s Facebook profile says he is from Tehachapi, California.
According to a police operation Lange chatted online with a police officer posing as a 13 year old girl. Lange pursued contact and made sexual conversation and sent explicit photos, to the under cover officer, which is how they were able to identify him. Lange left his 4 young children home alone on Saturday to meet the 13 year old girl and the police arrested him.
He was taken to Iron County Jail and charged with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony; enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and four counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony.
The school district is taking steps to terminate Lange’s employment as a high school teacher.
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Donate »Facts
- Criminal: Ongoing,
- Positions: Missionary,
- Alleged crime: 2020s, 2025, in arizaon, colorado city,
- Convicted: ongoing,
- Victims: 1+,
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Born: 1970
- Mission: Unknown country
- Locations: Arizona, colorado city,
Sources
- Arizona teacher arrested in Utah, accused of enticing a teen girl is charged ,
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- Arizona high school teacher accused of attempting to entice minor in Cedar City ,
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1. Arizona teacher arrested in Utah, accused of enticing a teen girl is charged
CEDAR CITY — A high school teacher was arrested in Utah over the weekend and accused of arranging to meet an undercover officer he thought was a teenage girl.
Derek Thomas Lange, 34, was booked into the Iron County Jail and charged on Monday in 5th District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony; enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and four counts of dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony.
The investigation began around March 12, when a Cedar City police officer was posing as a 13-year-old girl online.
"As part of that operation, I responded to various ads posted on various dating and social websites. One of the sites I visited was Doublelist.com. I responded to various posts made on the site," the officer wrote in a police booking affidavit.
While one person told the undercover officer, "You should not be here. Do not contact me again," when the officer said he was nearly 14, another person later identified as Lange kept pushing the conversation, according to the affidavit.
"(It's) very clear the purpose of said meetup would be sexual in nature. Throughout the conversation (Lange) is the driver of the sexual conversations," the affidavit alleges. "(Lange) also makes multiple comments and actions throughout the conversation that show that he is in full knowledge that what he is doing is wrong and is trying to hide his true identity."
Lange also allegedly sent explicit pictures to the undercover officer. When investigators identified him, they learned there was also an active case involving him in Utah County, according to the affidavit.
On Saturday, Lange arranged to meet the "girl" and was arrested when he arrived, the affidavit says. Police say he left his young children home alone when he went to meet up with the undercover officer.
Lange is a high school teacher in Colorado City, Arizona, the arrest report says. He is listed on the El Capitan High School website as an English teacher and sports coach.
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2. Home Latest News Sports Obituaries Arrests Prev Previous Previous Woman charged with obstruction for reportedly aiding St. George store robbery suspect Woman charged with obstruction for reportedly aiding St. Geo… A woman is in jail facing a felony obstruction charge for al… Next Next Up Next Up Hurricane man accused of crossing state lines to exploit teen faces multiple felony charges Hurricane man accused of crossing state lines to exploit tee… A Hurricane man was arrested after an investigation that spa… Featured UPDATE: Colorado City school district fires teacher arrested in Cedar City for soliciting sex with minor
A Colorado City, Arizona, high school teacher was arrested in Cedar City on Saturday after police say he attempted to meet a person for sexual purposes who he allegedly believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Derek Thomas Lange, 34, of Hurricane, was arrested late Saturday night and booked into Iron County Jail after midnight on Sunday. He faces multiple felony charges, including one count of attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony; one count of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and five third-degree felony counts related to enticement of a minor and dealing in materials harmful to a minor.
Lange, who is currently being held without bail in Iron County Jail, is listed as being an English teacher at El Capitan High School in Colorado City, according to the school’s website.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Lange was the subject of a Cedar City Police investigation that began more than two weeks earlier, when a detective conducted an operation posing as a 13-year-old girl on adults-only websites designed to facilitate sexual encounters.On one such site, according to the affidavit, a person with the username ANDERWIN99 posted that he was a 34-year-old married man living in Southern Utah.
The user allegedly wrote in the post that he was looking “to spice things up.”The investigating officer wrote that he responded to the post using the persona of a 13-year-old girl. The ensuing text conversation eventually became sexually explicit, as indicated by selected excerpts shared by the officer in the affidavit. At one point, the user also sent pictures of his genitalia, the affidavit alleges.
Then, on Saturday evening, the suspect allegedly drove to Cedar City in order to meet with his intended target.
“On March 29, 2025, officers located Derek Lange at the meeting location that had been arranged with the (undercover officer),” the affidavit states.
During their ensuing search of the van that Lange was driving, officers reportedly found an unopened box of condoms, along with a sleeping bag and pillows set up in the back of the vehicle.
The affidavit states that in his post-Miranda interview with police, Lange admitted to chatting with and sending nude photos to someone he believed to be 13 years old.
“He stated he had traveled to Cedar City to meet with this individual,” the affidavit states. “He stated the purpose of this visit was to engage in sexual activity. He admitted he brought condoms and they were in his van. He also admitted to chatting with a female ‘up north’ who was also 13-14 years old.”
That second, separate incident reportedly involved a different undercover decoy officer working in Utah County, using a different phone app, according to the affidavit.
Cedar City News contacted Colorado City Unified School District Superintendent Carol Timpson via email and telephone Monday morning, and shortly before 1 p.m. on Monday, Timpson emailed an official statement from the school district.
“The Colorado City Unified School District has been made aware that one of our teachers, Derek Lange, was arrested on charges related to the solicitation of a minor,” the statement begins.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. Upon learning of the allegations, the district took immediate action to terminate this teacher’s employment,” the statement says, adding, “We are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for all students and staff and will continue to work closely with the appropriate authorities.”
The statement also addresses whether any Colorado City Unified School District's students may have been victimized.
“At this point, we do not have any information that would lead us to believe that any of the district’s students were involved in the incident that led to the teacher’s arrest,” the statement says, encouraging anyone with information about the case to contact local law enforcement.
“While we recognize that this is a deeply concerning situation for our school community, we want to assure parents, students, and staff that we are doing everything in our power to support the ongoing investigation and maintain transparency,” the statement adds.
The district’s statement also states that resources and counseling support are available for students or staff members who may need assistance.
“Our district remains committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and safety,” the statement concludes. “We appreciate the cooperation and support of our community as we navigate this difficult situation.”
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Updated March 31, 1:30 p.m. to include information from an official statement issued by Colorado City School District.
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3. Arizona high school teacher accused of attempting to entice minor in Cedar City
CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — An Arizona high school teacher was taken into custody in Cedar City over the weekend, accused of enticing an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl online.
Derek Thomas Lange, 35, was booked into the Iron County Jail where he faces one count of first-degree felony attempted rape of a child, one count of second-degree felony enticing a minor, third-degree felony enticing a minor, and four counts of third-degree felony dealing in materials harmful to a minor.
According to court documents, the officer was responding to listings on several websites, including one allegedly belonging to Lange. In his listing, Lange reportedly described himself as a 34-year-old married man in Southern Utah, looking for a woman between 20 and 50 years old.
The undercover officer responded to the ad, claiming to be a 13-year-old girl who was interested in Lange’s alleged ad.
In the conversation that followed, Lange, under a user ID with a fake name, allegedly asked for a picture of the 13-year-old. At one point, Lange allegedly said he was possibly interested but added, “It’s dangerous. You know that, right?”
Police claimed the conversation continued to be sexual in nature, saying that Lange was the “driver of the sexual conversations.” According to court documents, Lange sent four explicit photos of himself, including one of his face which officers said helped identify using facial recognition.
The two reportedly arranged to meet up on March 29 with what police was the “clear purpose of engaging in sexual activity.” Officers met up with Lange at the arranged location and safely took him into custody.
When speaking with officers, Lange allegedly admitted to chatting with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and sending sexually explicit photos. He said he drove to Cedar City to meet with the girl. Detectives said they found an unopened box of condoms as well as a sleeping bag and pillows in Lange’s van.
Detectives said Utah County investigators also had an open case against Lange, saying they were speaking to him while posing as a minor as well. Lange allegedly admitted to Cedar City investigators to chatting with a girl “up north” who he also believed to be 13 or 14 years old.
According to arresting documents, Lange is a high school teacher in Colorado City, Arizona, and made comments about having a fantasy about being the victim’s teacher or coach.
Superintendent Carol Timpson of the Colorado City Unified School District, where Lange is employed, said the district was made aware of the allegations adding that the school district takes the matter seriously and is fully cooperating with law enforcement.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. Upon learning of the allegations, the district took immediate action to terminate this teacher’s employment,” Timpson said in a statement provided to ABC4.com. “We are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for all students and staff and will continue to work closely with the appropriate authorities.”
Timpson said there is no information that leads district officials to believe that any students in the Colorado City Unified School District were involved with Lange in connection to the investigation.
Court records show Lange has been ordered to be held without bail, pending a pretrial hearing.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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