CEDAR CITY — A 37-year-old Las Vegas man has been arrested on multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a minor after he allegedly admitted to having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a Cedar City hotel in early May.
Vernon Ross was booked into Iron County Jail shortly after midnight on Saturday and is being held on suspicion of five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony; and two misdemeanor counts related to providing alcohol and tobacco products to a minor.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Ross was the alleged recipient of several phone calls made by the 17-year-old girl, who had been reported as a runaway.
“The juvenile had made several phone calls to Vernon Ross (a 37-year-old male) prior to her running away,” the investigating Cedar City Police officer wrote in the affidavit. “We had reason to believe that she was with him. Vernon contacted me several days after she was found and informed me that he had been with her that night.”
According to the affidavit, Ross told police that he had met the girl via an online adult dating app in early May and had exchanged numerous sexually explicit images via Snapchat.
“(Ross) stated that he believed she was 18, but when he found out on Monday that she was 17, he videoed and took screenshots of their entire Snapchat conversation, including the child sexual abuse material,” the officer wrote in the probable cause statement.
The investigating officer also wrote that Ross allegedly admitted having consensual sexual intercourse with the teen at a hotel room in Cedar City.
“At this point he believed she was 18, but due to the 20-year age gap, this fact is not relevant,” the officer wrote.
Ross also admitted giving the girl alcohol to drink and a nicotine vape, the affidavit adds.
Ross, who is being held without bail in Iron County Jail, made his initial court appearance on Tuesday before 5th District Judge Jeffrey C. Wilcox. His next scheduled appearance is a roll call hearing on June 18.
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.
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