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Ex-counselor who is accused of sexually abusing teens now
faces child porn charges
By Melinda Rogers
The Salt Lake Tribune
Published: November 22, 2011 12:36PM
Updated: November 22, 2011 11:36PM

Courtesy image Eric Allen Glosson has been charged in 6th
District Court with eight counts of second-degree felony
forcible sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual relations with
youth at Silverado Academy in Garfield County.
A former counselor at a
Panguitch-based boarding school for troubled teens who is charged
with sexually abusing several students is now accused in U.S.
District Court of producing and possessing child pornography.
A two-count indictment handed down to
29-year-old Eric Allen Glosson by a federal grand jury earlier this
month alleges he kept sexual images of children on his computer from
March to June and coerced a minor into making pornography. Court
documents do not disclose if any of the victims were students at the
Silverado Academy where Glosson was employed.
Glosson made his first appearance in
federal court on the porn charges Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate
Robert Braithwaite. He is next scheduled to appear in a St. George
courtroom on Dec. 12.
The federal charges follow state charges
filed against Glosson, and a civil lawsuit filed in federal court by
families of children who Glosson allegedly abused.
Prosecutors in June charged Glosson in 6th
District Court with eight counts of second-degree felony forcible
sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual relations with youth at
Silverado Academy in Garfield County between April 20 and June 18.
He is also charged with one count of
second-degree felony custodial sexual relations with a youth
receiving state services and one count of third-degree felony
dealing in materials harmful to a minor.
Following state charges against Glosson,
three families from Nevada, Georgia and Michigan filed a federal
lawsuit, alleging Silverado Academy should have done more to keep
tabs on Glosson’s interactions with students. Their complaint
alleges the school failed to protect their children from Glosson,
who had been previously fired over concerns he was “too close to the
teenagers in the program.”
In late 2010, Glosson was rehired as a
coach and athletic coordinator and allowed to supervise 13 to 18
year olds, according to the complaint. He then sexually abused
numerous teens in locations including their living quarters, the
complaint states.
Glosson discouraged students from reporting
the abuse by threatening to not recommend the students for an
advanced program, the complaint states. He used “bribery, physical
force, intimidation and deceit” to cover up his relationships with
the students, the complaint states.
The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit, who
are not being identified by The Salt Lake Tribune to protect the
identity of the alleged victims, are seeking at least $75,000 in
damages.
In a statement released in June following
Glosson’s arrest, Silverado Academy officials said one student
reported the alleged conduct during a Father’s Day call to his
parents.
“We reported these events to the
appropriate state authorities on the same day,” academy officials
said in a statement. “We are cooperating fully with the ongoing
investigation.”
Glosson had called authorities on his own
in May, telling law enforcement that a youth in Arizona was
contacting him via Facebook and “threatening to publicize alleged
sexual abuse that Glosson had perpetrated,” according to the
complaint. Law enforcement came to Silverado Academy to investigate,
but the school allowed him to continue working with youth after no
immediate arrest took place, the complaint states.
The school offered to provide counseling
services to teenagers affected by Glosson’s behavior, according to
the complaint.
Glosson is next scheduled to appear in
state court on Dec. 8 before Judge Wallace Lee.
If convicted on federal charges, Glosson
faces a 15-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for the production
of pornography charge and up to 10 years in prison for possession of
pornography.
mrogers@sltrib.com
Source:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52971116-78/glosson-court-federal-charges.html.csp |