LOGAN — A 23-year-old North Logan man has been bound over for trial on charges of reportedly manipulating a 16-year-old girl into having sex with him by allegedly using “devil worship language.” Scott P. Ferree was arrested in June and later booked temporarily into the Cache County Jail.
Ferree appeared in 1st District Court Tuesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors were prepared to present their evidence in the case. He was previously charged with two counts of rape, two counts of forcible sodomy, and one count of aggravated sexual extortion of a child, all first-degree felonies.
Defense attorney Jeanne Campbell told the court she had met earlier with Ferree and he wished to waive his rights to the hearing. She also entered pleas of “not guilty” to all of the charges.
According to prosecutors, in January 2021, the mother of the alleged victim contacted the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, reporting she was concerned about text messages between her daughter and Ferree. She claimed the suspect was manipulating her daughter into having sex.
When interviewed by deputies, the girl said that Ferree had instructed her to listen to “Dev” and said “Dev would text her and tell her what she needed to do to Scott,” an arrest report detailed. The girl explained that she was told that if she did not cooperate, that she and her family would be cursed.
A search of the girl’s phone revealed an extensive text stream between her and Dev that included graphic detail, instructing on where she was to meet Ferree, the sex acts that she was to perform and the threats if she did not comply with the instructions. They also instructed her to send naked photos of herself to the suspect. The texts took place over a period of several months in the fall of 2020.
Ferree was later interviewed by deputies and denied any sexual contact with the alleged victim. He claimed his phone had been damaged because he dropped it and then put it in water when it started smoking. The phone had nine different strike marks front and back and the sim card was melted.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Spencer Walsh said he would accept Ferree’s waiver and bind him over on prosecutor’s evidence. He also ordered the defendant to appear again for a pretrial conference May 2, when it will be decided whether a trial date needs to be set.
Ferree is currently out of jail on $110,000 bail. He could face up to life in prison, if convicted.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
will@cvradio.com