Former Utah County therapist faces six additional sexual abuse charges
Oct 18, 2022, 3:14 PM | Updated: 3:27 pm
(KSL TV file photo)
UTAH COUNTY, Utah — A former therapist, previously arrested, who investigators called “a threat to the children and citizens of Utah County,” has been charged with six additional sexual abuse charges by the Sixth District Count in Manti, Utah.
On Tuesday, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office announced that David Lee Hamblin, 68, was charged with six first-degree felony charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child by the Sixth District Court.
He was previously arrested on suspicion of sex crimes against children, including rape, and is held without bail for “egregious crimes against a child.”
“In early Oct. 2022, detectives with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office were contacted by a person who told them they were repeatedly sexually abused by David Lee Hamblin in the early 1990s in Spring City, Utah,” the sheriff’s office said.
New case: Six counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child filed in 6th District Court-Manti against David Lee Hamblin. This latest victim came forward after Hamblin was arrested and booked on 9/28/22. https://t.co/1cxymXNuR4
— Utah County Sheriff (@UCSO) October 18, 2022
The victim told detectives the abuse happened in Hamblin’s home, where they had therapy sessions. During the sessions, the victim said Hamblin forcibly sexually abused them.
According to the sheriff’s office, Hamblin also administered “religious blessings” during their therapy sessions.
“The victim described disclosing the abuse, but that the concerns expressed were not taken seriously because of Hamblin’s standing both in the Spring City community and Hamblin’s standing because of his membership in and involvement with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” according to sheriff’s office statement.
Sometime later, the victim was no longer required to attend sessions with Hamblin.
Hamblin has not been booked for the new charges but is still in the Utah County Jail without bail on seven other child sexual abuse charges from a separate case, according to the sheriff’s office.