- Former Ogden police officer Colten Johansen received a 30-day jail sentence and suspended prison term on three felony counts outlining sexual misdeeds.
- Judge Catherine Conklin stressed Johansen must face consequences notwithstanding his long law enforcement career.
- Johansen pleaded guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor for owning or viewing child sexual abuse material and forcible sexual abuse.
OGDEN — A former Ogden police officer and school resource officer received a suspended prison sentence, but must serve 30 days in jail stemming from three felony counts outlining sexual misdeeds involving minors.
Judge Catherine Conklin acknowledged that Colten Scott Johansen, 56, was a "very decorated and respected" law enforcement officer. "I don't think Mr. Johansen is a danger to the community in any respect," she said at his sentencing on Friday at 2nd District Court in Ogden.
However, she said he needs to face consequences for the "heinous" act outlined in one of the criminal counts to serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders and to send the message that even those with otherwise solid records are accountable for their actions. Johansen started his law enforcement career in 1994 at the Weber County Sheriff's Office and moved to the Ogden Police Department in 2002, where he served until his arrest last year in the case. He had been serving as a school resource officer at Ogden High School when he was arrested.
Johansen pleaded guilty on Dec. 4 to two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor for viewing or possessing child pornography in 2024 and a count of forcible sexual abuse, all second-degree felonies. Conklin sentenced him to one to 15 years of prison on each of the counts, suspending all but 30 days of that, to be served at the Weber County jail. He is to report to the jail next Monday, March 2, to start serving the sentence.
Conklin gave Johansen two days' credit for time served and said he's eligible for credit for good behavior when jailed. After the jail time, he's to serve 60 days of home confinement. She also placed him on probation for four years.
Davis County Sheriff's Office officials arrested Johansen on Oct. 23 last year after authorities learned he had child sex abuse material, evidence in criminal cases, stored at his Huntsville home. He disclosed the presence of the material at his home during a polygraph exam in vying for another law enforcement job, as well as a sexual act involving an infant in 1994 when he was 24, which led to the forcible sexual abuse charge.
Randy Watt, the former chief of the Ogden Police Department, testified on Johansen's behalf prior to sentencing. Johansen assisted a task force that investigated sex crimes, according to Watt, and no office was willing to store child sex abuse material evidence, leading Johansen to ultimately put it in boxes in the garage at his Huntsville home.
Johansen "could be trusted with anything we asked him to do," Watt said.
The charges Johansen pled to say he viewed or possessed child pornography. At Friday's sentencing, Johansen said he only viewed adult pornography that had been mixed in with the child sex abuse material he had stored at his home. "It was a one-time deal," he said.
His arrest, Johansen said, has had a devastating effect on his life. He lost work and friends, now has money problems and has been kicked out of places. Out of dismay at the turn of events, he said he had thrown away all but two of the 31 awards he received over his law enforcement career. "I don't know how many times I've been shot at. My whole goal in life was to protect and serve my community," he said.
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Tim Vandenack
