Helper councilman arrested, accused of groping neighbor


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A city councilman in Helper was recently arrested after police say he entered his neighbor's house uninvited and groped her.

Darren Cloward, 49, of Helper, was booked into the Carbon County Jail on June 10 for investigation of forcible sexual abuse, burglary of a dwelling, criminal trespassing, making false statements and intoxication.

As of Tuesday, no formal criminal charges have been filed against him.

A woman claimed Cloward came into her house through her back door uninvited, allegedly to check on his daughter who was playing in her yard. He made suggestive comments about the woman who was in a swimsuit, according to a Carbon County Jail report.

Later, Cloward returned to the house to get his daughter, again entered without being invited, and went into the basement where he allegedly touched the woman's chest "through the bed sheets while she was in her bedroom," the report states.

When questioned by police, Cloward denied going into the basement. Cloward declined to comment when reached by the Deseret News on Tuesday.

A sheriff's deputy placed him under arrest, "due to Darren entering the … residence twice uninvited and on the second time going downstairs to commit a sexual assault while unlawfully being in the … residence. Darren was also under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and providing a false verbal statement after being advised it would be used in court as evidence," the report states.

The woman filed for a civil stalking injunction against Cloward on June 12, according to court records.

Cloward has been on the Helper City Council since 2018. According to the Helper city recorder on Tuesday, Cloward's status on the council has not changed and is unlikely to change until the case has been adjudicated.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahPolitics
Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast