A Kaysville man who worked as a resident supervisor at Alpine Academy in Erda has been charged with raping one of the school’s female students.

Jonathan Carver, 29, was a house parent at the residential counseling program, which specializes in helping girls with behavioral or emotional issues. He was responsible for the daily tracking, well-being and safety of the 17-year-old victim, who lived at the academy for several months during 2008.

Carver began having sexual relations with the victim in October 2008, according to a probable cause statement. Most of the time the sex acts happened in the academy’s recreation room when no one was around. Other times they occurred in Carver’s bedroom or shower when his wife, who lived at the facility with Carver, was away.

Carver also reportedly took advantage of the girl in a parking lot at the Salt Lake International Airport after dropping off several other girls who were flying home for visits. The victim was also scheduled to go home that day, but her flight was later than the others, the probable cause statement said.

After the victim completed the program at the academy and returned home, her father contacted authorities because he was concerned about the ongoing communication between Carver and his daughter, according to Alpine Academy program director Janet Mulitalo, who oversees all operations at the school. That’s when police initiated an investigation into possible criminal behavior.

During a police interview, the victim identified over 20 occasions in which Carver engaged in sexual intercourse with her. Carver allegedly asked the girl not to speak with law enforcement about the relationship, according to court documents.

Carver was charged with four counts of rape, two counts of forcible sodomy — all first-degree felonies — and tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony. During his first appearance Wednesday morning in 3rd District Court, he was appointed a public defender to represent him. Judge Stephen Henriod set bail at $100,000, cash only.

Tooele County Deputy Attorney Gary Searle said that while 17-year-olds can legally consent to sex, in this case the acts amount to rape because of Carver’s position. Carver did not use force on the girl, but severely abused his role as her guardian.

The charges came as a shock to Alpine Academy officials, which employ strict rules to ensure the safety of the nearly 50 students in their care, Mulitalo said.

“The staff is never to work alone,” she added. “If any of the allegations are true, it’s clear to me that he was not operating based on the job requirements that were outlined.”

Mulitalo said when the academy was contacted by a detective from the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office regarding the investigation into Carver’s behavior in mid-March, the academy immediately put Carver and his wife on administrative leave. After a brief internal investigation, Carver was fired. His wife, although not thought to be complicit in Carver’s alleged crime, was also released because the position was for a resident couple, Mulitalo said.

“It’s our policy that we hire them as a couple so they leave as a couple,” Mulitalo said.

Carver and his wife began work at the academy in June 2008. Carver passed a background check, and regular supervision from administrative teams and monthly interviews conducted with students never gave any cause for concern, Mulitalo said.

“We were not aware prior to being notified by the police department that there was reason to be concerned,” she said.

The Carvers’ vacant positions have been filled and the academy believes all danger has been removed.

“We feel very confident about the safety of all the other students in our care,” Mulitalo said. “When DCFS [state Division of Child and Family Services] investigated they interviewed all the girls and no others made allegations against him. We don’t believe anyone else was victimized.”

Carver’s case is one of several in Tooele County in recent years involving teachers or educational workers sexually abusing students.

Former Tooele High School employee Leslie Baird pled guilty to having sex with two teenage students multiple times in 2006 and was sentenced to a year in the Tooele County Jail. Baird, however, only served half of that time due to good behavior before being released into home confinement.

Cameo Patch, another Tooele School District employee, was also arrested in 2006 for having sex with a male student. Patch was sentenced to 36 months probation.

Christopher Burton, a former East Elementary School third-grade teacher, was arrested in March 2007 after it was reported that he had molested eight boys in his class. He is currently serving an eight- to 30-year prison sentence.

Curtis Crittenden, the former head of 4-H in Tooele County, was arrested in June 2007 after a young Latino boy confided to his soccer coach that he had been molested by Crittenden while attending a sleep-over at Crittenden’s Tooele home earlier that month. An investigation that was later launched revealed six victims, all Spanish-speaking boys from Wendover, who were abused during similar circumstances. During a parole hearing recently, Crittenden also admitted to abusing eight more boys while serving as a missionary for the LDS Church and while attending Utah State University in Logan. Crittenden is currently serving out a six- to 30-year prison sentence.

Carver will appear in court next on May 19.

jamieb@tooeletranscript.com