LOGAN — A 26-year-old Payson man was arraigned in court on charges of arranging to have sex with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl. Brayden E. Tousley is now facing two criminal cases, after he was arrested earlier this year on similar allegations in Utah County.
Tousley participated in a virtual hearing in First District Court Monday afternoon, appearing by web conference. He was charged with five felonies of enticing a minor by internet or text.
In December, Logan City Police officers conducted an online undercover investigation.
An officer posing as a 13-year-old girl began messaging Tousley in a chat room, the charges state. After the undercover agent informed Tousley that “she” was 13, he allegedly engaged in a sexually explicit conversation, telling “her” not to tell anybody.
According to a warrant affidavit, Tousley continued to message police on almost a daily basis for more than a month. He asked to meet up with the “girl” multiple times, explaining they could have sex in his work van, a park, bathroom, or an empty church building.
Police were able to track Tousley’s internet IP address to his residence. He stopped chatting on Jan. 20 and did not appear for an arranged meeting on Jan. 27. Officers later learned the suspect had been arrested two days earlier in a similar undercover chat sting.
According to the Utah State Bureau of Investigations, Tousley arranged to meet with who he thought was a girl at a church parking lot in Orem. After his arrest, he told police his plan was to “check to see whether the church was open and if it was not, they could use the back of his van.”
Investigators also found evidence on Tousley’s phone that he had met a 15-year-old girl and engaged in sexual activities outside her high school. He said that he “believed the female to be 18 and a senior in high school.”
Logan City Police officers later attempted to question Tousley at the Utah County Jail. He declined to answer any questions.
During Monday’s video arraignment, Tousley was assigned a public defender on the new case and ordered to appear again in court May 16. He could be sentenced to up to 15 years 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