Utah man arrested for habitual child sex abuse

FARMINGTON, UT (ABC4) — A 75-year-old man from Payson, Utah, has been taken into custody for alleged child sexual abuse over a period of more than a decade.

According to the Davis County Sheriff's Office, Alan Brower Bassett was accused of abusing several victims between 1977 and 1989. Investigators said several victims, whose ages at the time ranged from 5 to 10 , had been sexually assaulted while Bassett lived in Fruit Heights. .

The abuse only stopped when Bassett left the neighborhood, according to court documents.

“Some of these victims have been seeking justice for 40 years and we are happy to tell them that Alan Bassett is no longer on the streets,” said Deputy Chief Taylor West. “Detectives in our office spent hundreds of hours identifying, locating and interviewing the victims. We appreciate their work and the trust these victims had in sharing their stories. We remain committed to seeking justice for all victims, regardless of how much time has passed.

According to court documents, Bassett moved into his Fruit Heights home with his family and spent many years there. Many victims reported spending a lot of time at Bassett's home.

The victims described in detail times when they went on hikes, sat on Bassett's lap, and removed their clothes around Bassett, many of which involved being touched inappropriately by Bassett.

When Bassett was questioned about the allegations, he reportedly told investigators, “If they said I did it, I did it.” Why would they lie?

Bassett allegedly admitted to sexually abusing children during his time at Fruit Heights, but was unable to give investigators the total number of all the victims he allegedly abused.

Bassett was booked into the Davis County Jail on Monday, June 10 on eight second-degree felony charges of sexual abuse of a child. He was ordered held without bail. A first hearing date has not yet been set.