Logan man arrested and charged with allegedly molesting 2 young girls

Booking photo for Roberto Gustavo Ponce (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)

LOGAN — A 74-year-old Logan man has been arrested and charged with allegedly sexually abusing two young girls. Roberto G. Ponce was booked Thursday into the Cache County Jail, where he is temporarily being held without bail.

According to an arrest report, Logan City police officers received a complaint from the alleged victim’s grandmother March 12. She claimed the two girls, ages 6 and 7-years-old, had disclosed to her that Ponce had been molesting them.

Officers report, the woman confronted Ponce during a secretly recorded interaction. During the conversation, he allegedly admitted to molesting the girls multiple times during the past year. The woman provided police with the audio from the exchange.

As the investigation continued, the alleged victims were interviewed by officers at the Children’s Justice Center. They described being touched by the suspect, “lots of times.”

Police later questioned Ponce. He admitted to touching the girls both over and under their clothing, but then asked to discontinue the interview.

Ponce was arraigned during a virtual hearing in 1st District Court Friday afternoon, appearing by web conference from jail. He was charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.

Cache County Deputy Attorney Jacob Gordon asked the court to hold Ponce in jail without bail. He claimed the suspect posed a substantial risk to the alleged victims and could flee the area if released.

Judge Spencer Walsh ordered Ponce to remain in jail and appear for a detention hearing, where attorneys will further argue whether or not bail should be allowed. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.

Ponce spoke only briefly, telling the court that he was retired and requested a court appointed attorney. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.


[email protected]

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.