‘Lonely’ man picked 14-year-old girl up from school, gave her marijuana, Utah cops say
A 31-year-old man was arrested after Utah police say they stopped him on his way to meet with a 14-year-old girl for a second time.
Anthony Anderson is accused of picking a 14-year-old girl from school on Jan. 21, the Kaysville Police Department said in a Jan. 27 news release shared on Facebook.
The pair met online two weeks earlier, according to police. Details of where they met online was not provided by police.
After picking the girl up from school, Anderson is accused of giving the girl marijuana and a cellphone, so she could continue to speak with him, police said.
Then, that same evening, Anderson drove from Salt Lake County to Layton to meet with the girl again, according to police.
This time, however, Anderson was stopped by police.
During questioning, Anderson admitted to police that he knew the girl was 14 years old.
Police said he also admitted to offering to pick her up and give her marijuana.
He told police he planned to start dating the girl in four years when she turned 18.
Anderson also said that while he knew he should not have been starting a relationship with the girl, he did so “because he was lonely,” according to police.
Anderson was arrested on a number of charges, including kidnapping, endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, according to police.
Police got a warrant to search Anderson’s phone and found “child sexual abuse material,” adding 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to his charges, per the release.
Kaysville is about a 20-mile drive north from Salt Lake City.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 12:34 PM with the headline "‘Lonely’ man picked 14-year-old girl up from school, gave her marijuana, Utah cops say."
