A 42-year-old South Jordan man is behind bars after police say they found a 17-year-old runaway living in a shed behind his home. Brandon Lee Jolley faces multiple felony counts, including unlawful sexual conduct, endangerment of a child, furnishing alcoholic products to a minor, and harboring a runaway, and is being held without bail. Officers removed the teen from the backyard structure and took her to a local hospital, where she agreed to a sexual-assault examination.
According to court documents and local reporting, Taylorsville police tipped off South Jordan officers that a 17-year-old runaway might be staying in a shed at Jolley’s house. When officers asked Jolley to open the structure, they say he initially denied that anyone underage was inside. His brother, Justin Jolley, accompanied officers to the backyard and unlocked the shed, where detectives report they found the girl sitting in a corner amid blankets and bedding. Officers say they also found empty beer cans, needles, and crumpled tinfoil in the small space, and investigators later received eight home-security videos that allegedly show Jolley and the teen walking toward the shed in the same clothing they wore the day she was located. These details and the list of charges are laid out in court paperwork and local reporting, as reported by FOX 13.
Charges and what the law says
Prosecutors have charged Jolley with unlawful sexual conduct, child endangerment, furnishing alcoholic products to a minor, and harboring a runaway. Utah’s statute on unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old sets out specific penalties and limitations, and the offense can be prosecuted as a felony depending on the circumstances. The statutory language and potential penalties are outlined in Utah Code §76-5-401.2. The case remains in its early stages, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
Local context
The arrest lands amid heightened attention to adults who cultivate online relationships with minors, as well as to undercover decoy operations used to detect enticement. A separate South Jordan online decoy arrest was reported earlier this spring, underscoring active local enforcement in similar cases, as described in a previous online-decoy sting, per Hoodline.
