A case of child sexual abuse continues in 8th District Court. According to court documents, 28-year-old Jerahmia Hardman was arrested on February 7th, 2015 by Roosevelt City Police on Assault and three counts of Forcible Sex Abuse of a Child. Court proceedings began in April and the following September, Hardman pleaded Not Guilty to what was then one charge of 1st Degree Felony Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child. The Probable Cause Statement from the arresting officer details the report from a mother that caught Hardman sexually abusing her 6-year-old daughter. Upon being caught, Hardman hit the mother, bruising her leg. The statement also details that Hardman spoke to authorities and “confessed to touching the female victim….on at least 12 occasions during the [previous] two years.” He also confessed to hitting the girl’s mother, causing injury. On March 4th, 2016, a Suppression Hearing was held and in July Hardman filed a Motion to Suppress Statements. A pretrial conference was held last week and the ruling on the Motion to Suppress was pushed back to a Pretrial/Status Hearing scheduled for
November 9th
in Vernal’s 8th District Court.
