California man arrested after driving to Utah to meet up with teen

DAVIS COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A California man was arrested in Davis County Monday after he was found in a hotel room with a juvenile boy, according to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office.

Austin David Arnold, 36, was booked into Davis County Jail on charges of enticing a minor — first degree felony sexual activity and sexual abuse of a minor.

On Sunday afternoon, March 3, a boy was reported missing by family members in Davis County. They said the teen had not been seen since early morning, and that he had changed his voicemail — something his family believed to be a distress signal based on “conversations the family recently had about safety,” according to the sheriff’s office.

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Deputies and investigators with the Davis Child Abduction Response Team responded to search for the missing boy, and at around 8:30 p.m., the victim sent a message to a family member and shared his location.

Authorities responded to his location, the address of a hotel, and discovered the juvenile in a room with four adult men. The teen was then taken to Primary Children’s Hospital for an evaluation.

One of those men, identified as Arnold, was arrested on the charges previously mentioned. The other three men were detained and questioned, then released.

Arnold admitted that he knew the boy was a minor, and that he had travelled to Utah from California to meet up with the victim. Arnold also admitted that he had plans to take the boy to California.

Possible charges of possession of child sexual abuse material may be forthcoming, according to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office.

No further information is available at this time.

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