| Suspect in sex offense surrenders | |
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By Elizabeth Carlile ecarlile@thespectrum.com | |
CEDAR CITY - After saying he would do so a week ago, accused sex offender Wayland Wyler turned himself into authorities on Friday. Wyler showed up at the Cedar City Hall of Justice with his attorney, Kenneth Combs, that afternoon and was taken into custody by the bailiffs. "He did the right thing," said Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower. A warrant was issued for Wyler's arrest on March 17 after he failed to turn himself in. The warrant charges him with first-degree felony sodomy on a child with whom he had a special relationship of trust. Because of the seriousness of the charge, Gower said this case was made a priority. "Anytime someone is victimized, it's taken seriously," the sheriff said. "It's put above other cases and really worked." Gower said sodomy carries the same penalty as murder, which in Utah means the possibility of life in prison. After Gower and Detective Mike Crouch intercepted Wyler at the courthouse, he was booked into the Iron County Jail on $50,000 cash-only bail. Wyler had told Crouch he would turn himself in last week. But when he failed to do so, the warrant was issued. Crouch sought the public's assistance on Tuesday to find Wyler and the public answered the call. "Tons of people called," Crouch said. "It was like 'America's Most Wanted' on Tuesday morning. I about had to install another phone line." Crouch said he believes the public's interest in finding Wyler eventually pressured the suspect to turn himself into authorities. In response to the tips, Gower said the sheriff's office set up surveillance a couple places and followed-up on all the leads. There were sightings of Wyler reported in St. George and Cedar City. "The detectives worked hard on this case," Gower said. "(Detective) Mike (Crouch) worked hard and did a good job." | |
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published March 25, 2006 | |
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