Provo therapist arrested after sexual abuse allegations and standoff with police

PROVO — A mental health therapist, Dr. Scott Owen, was arrested Wednesday after an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against him. Police said Own agreed to meet them to be transported to Jail, but he didn’t show up.

Provo police said they recently completed an investigation into Owen and allegations of sexual abuse patterns. They said the case was screened and approved by the Utah County Attorney’s Office.

Owen agreed to meet with Provo and Spanish Fork police at the Spanish Fork Police station, they said, so that he could be transported from there to the Utah County Jail.

Owen did not show up at the station, and authorities said they began searching. He was located on Wednesday afternoon in the town of Thistle, which is nearly 24 miles from Provo.

Officer Janna-Lee Holland, with Provo police, said that he was located alone in his car and a standoff with police occurred after he was found. Highway 89 was closed in the area while police worked to get Owen to safely surrender. Holland said tactical units were called in from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office in order to do so.

Once he surrendered, Owen was booked on six counts of object rape and four counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies.

“We are grateful to tactical units of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office whose skillful work resulted in safe apprehension without injury to anyone,” Holland said.