LOGAN — A 36-year-old Honeyville man is facing criminal charges after allegedly driving to Logan to have sex with an undercover police officer, posing as a teenage girl, according to law enforcement. Andrew Ren Holmes was arrested Thursday, Nov. 16, and booked into the Cache County Jail.
Holmes was arraigned Friday, Nov. 17, during a virtual hearing in Logan’s 1st District Court, appearing by web conference from jail. He was charged with attempted rape of a child, sodomy of a child, and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, all first-degree felonies; three counts of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony; and dealing in materials harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony. The crimes carry a possible life sentence in prison, if convicted.
According to an arrest report, Holmes allegedly began messaging a Logan City Police officer several weeks ago. The officer was posing as a 13-year-old girl.
During the chats, Holmes “solicited the child persona for sexual activity,” the probable cause statement detailed. He also sent a pornographic photograph of a male’s genitals to the officer.
On Thursday, Holmes reportedly arranged to meet the undercover officer in person at a location in Logan. The suspect planned that they would engage in the previously discussed sexual activity in the back of his vehicle.
Police were waiting nearby the designated location and arrested Holmes without incident when he arrived. The undercover officer noted that the suspect and his vehicle matched photos and descriptions that had been sent in the chats messages, according to the arrest affidavit.
During questioning, Holmes reportedly admitted to chatting with the officer and making arrangements to engage in “sexual activity with who he believed was a child,” the PC statement described. He also claimed to perform the chats on the smartphone he was found in possession of at the time of his arrest.
According to jail records, Holmes was booked and initially held without bail.
Court records show, during Friday’s arraignment, Cache County Deputy attorney Aaron Josie requested the court keep Holmes in jail. He cited law enforcement’s concern that the suspect would pose a danger to children and minors in the community, and might also flee the area if granted bail.
Judge Spencer Walsh agreed with prosecutors and ordered Holmes to be held without bail. He assigned the suspect a public defender and ordered him to appear again in court Nov. 29, when bail could be discussed further.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.