All 13 felony charges against former Salt Lake City police officer Zander Nunley, accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met through a dating app, were dismissed without prejudice on Tuesday — but the legal door hasn't closed. Prosecutors asked the judge to drop the case in the interest of justice, according to court documents, a move that leaves open the possibility the charges could be refiled before any statutory deadline runs out.
Nunley's case dates back to his arrest on December 12, 2024, by American Fork police, since the alleged assault happened at his townhome in Utah County rather than in Salt Lake City, where he worked. As reported by ABC4 Utah, he had spoken with the alleged victim for several weeks before the two finally met in person on December 8, 2024, with plans to watch a religious Christmas devotional together. The woman told police that she and Nunley had agreed beforehand not to touch each other in certain places, but she said he pushed past those boundaries, grew aggressive, and assaulted her.
The woman reported that the assault affected her ability to breathe and left her with visible bruises, and a forensic nurse later found bruising consistent with her account, the outlet's report states. She underwent a rape kit at a Utah County hospital on December 9, 2024, according to KSL.com, which reported that Nunley lived in an American Fork townhome and worked for the Salt Lake City Police Department.
A Career Cut Short After Just 18 Months
Nunley was charged with eight counts of forcible sexual abuse, two counts of forcible sodomy, object rape, rape, and aggravated assault — 13 felonies in all, per the same ABC4 report. At the time of his arrest, probable cause affidavits showed he had been a Salt Lake City police officer for less than 18 months, having joined the department after serving as an LDS missionary in Nicaragua from 2018 to 2019, according to a report cited by Axios.
The Salt Lake City Police Department confirmed Nunley was placed on administrative leave shortly after his arrest, and he was later terminated. A department spokesman publicly emphasized at the time that the allegations were serious and ran counter to the agency's core values, KSL.com reported. A judge denied Nunley bail following his arrest, ruling that prosecutors had presented substantial evidence supporting the charges along with clear and convincing evidence of potential harm or flight risk, according to the Axios report, and he was held in Utah County Jail as the case proceeded.
A Violent Incident Months Before His Arrest
Months before his arrest, Nunley was one of four Salt Lake City officers involved in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Cameron Ammon Cloward on April 2, 2024. Cloward was shot 18 times after brandishing a knife and advancing on responding officers in a Chevron parking lot, and the Salt Lake County District Attorney ruled the shooting legally justified in October 2025, according to KSL TV — about a year before the sexual assault case against him was dismissed.
A judge determined in February 2025 that prosecutors had probable cause to send the case to trial, and a trial date was set following the preliminary hearing. But the state ultimately asked for dismissal after a continuance and a string of pre-trial conferences and other hearings spanning about a year and a half, per ABC4's reporting. ABC4 said it was still awaiting a response from the Utah County District Attorney's Office after requesting comment on the dismissal.
Why 'Without Prejudice' Matters
Dismissal without prejudice is a specific legal designation — it is not an acquittal, and it preserves the state's right to refile identical or modified felony charges later within statutory limitations, according to the Dunn Law Firm. Unlike a dismissal with prejudice, this kind of outcome does not trigger double jeopardy protections under state or federal law.
If Nunley eventually seeks to clear his arrest and court records, Utah law requires a waiting period of at least 180 days from the dismissal date before he can apply to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Investigation for a certificate of eligibility, unless prosecutors consent in writing sooner, per the Nix Law firm's explainer on Utah Code § 77-40a-302.
State Certification Review Remains a Separate Track
Utah's POST disciplinary proceedings are civil, even when the conduct at issue may also be prosecuted criminally.
POST's disciplinary process is separate from the criminal case. Whether POST or Utah County prosecutors plan any further action against Nunley remains an open question.
