ST. GEORGE — Legal problems mount for a defendant with a juvenile criminal history of sex crimes as he now faces new allegations that he sexually assaulted a minor in 2021. This is the third case filed against the suspect whose pretrial release was recently revoked by the judge.
Avery Jared Anderson, 21, is awaiting trial on two separate cases involving rape, aggravated assault and other charges.
On Thursday, two additional charges of first-degree felony rape and aggravated assault were sent to the Washington County Attorney’s office for review following an investigation into a report alleging Anderson sexually assaulted an underage teen in February 2021.
The incident was reported to police on Oct. 25, 2022, and was assigned to detectives in St. George for investigation, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
The incident began when the minor asked Anderson for a ride home, but instead of doing so, he reportedly stopped at a “lookout spot” in St. George.
Once the vehicle was parked, the report alleged that Anderson sexually assaulted and manually choked the minor inside the car. Shortly thereafter, the suspect drove the minor home.
When investigators went to Purgatory Correctional Facility to speak to Anderson, who was in custody awaiting trial on two unrelated cases, he “refused to participate in an interview,” the officer noted in the report.
Anderson has an extensive criminal history, beginning in Gunnison when he was 16 years old and attending high school. He was convicted of sexually assaulting multiple students during at least nine separate incidents and ultimately charged with six first-degree felony counts of object rape and five second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse.
Anderson reportedly took a plea deal in the case and admitted to eight counts of forcible sexual abuse. Following the sentencing hearing, the defendant was ordered to move to St. George to live with his grandparents in February 2019.
One month after the “lookout spot” incident, the defendant was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor following a report that Anderson allegedly forced a youth to perform sexual acts on him. He then requested photos of the girl and posted them on Snapchat, according to charging documents filed with the court.
In November 2022, new charges were filed against Anderson for alleged sexual activity with a young woman. When she tried to stop him, the defendant placed his hands around her neck, restricting her breathing. DNA sent to the crime lab matched Anderson’s, court records revealed.
The defendant’s crimes committed in Gunnison as a minor are consistent with the cases filed against him since his move to St. George, Prosecutor Jim Weeks said during a review hearing held in 5th District Court in May of last year. At the time, the defendant was released while awaiting trial.
Less than a year later, that release agreement was revoked after a series of violations were submitted to the court, and Anderson was arrested and booked into jail on March 23. He remains in custody without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders 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.
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