In the spring of 2019, the last of the charges in 8th District Court filed against a Duchesne County man were dropped and now the man is seeking damages. Charges were filed in May of 2018 against 49-year-old Darin Ace Thomas including two 1st Degree Felony charges of Criminal Conspiracy, two 3rd Degree Felony charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, one 3rd Degree Felony charge of Criminal Conspiracy, and one Misdemeanor charge of Sexual Solicitation. While the charges were dropped over the period of months toward the end of 2018 into the spring of 2019 for failure to show probable cause, Thomas has since shared his frustration that he was treated as though guilty even though he consistently denied the allegations from the beginning. Simply put, Thomas says that the false accusations resulted in him losing his job as well as his reputation and he questions the methods used in the investigation. Thomas filed a lawsuit in federal court on April 6th against the officer behind the investigation, Detective Shaun Smith, as well as Vernal City Police Department and the Duchesne County Attorney’s Office.
