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	Former Teacher Faces 16 Counts Jonathan Utin Will Be Arraigned on Rape and Sexual Imposition Charges Today in Ohio By Tim Thornton and Tonia Moxley The Roanoke Times [Ohio] September 28, 2006 http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/84628 A grand jury in Butler County, Ohio, indicted former Montgomery County teacher Jonathan Utin on 16 felony charges Wednesday -- eight counts of rape of a child under the age of 10 and eight counts of gross sexual imposition. Prosecutor Robin Piper issued a news release calling Utin "an extraordinary monster" and said the detective work that led to the Ohio charges also "unearthed many, many other incidences which took place in Virginia." Piper said Utin "created a string of victims over the last decade" and had molested children for more than 30 years. Blacksburg police said Wednesday for the first time that Utin also will be charged in Virginia. Capt. Kim Crannis said police first will finish an investigation. Utin, 64, is scheduled for arraignment today on the Ohio charges. The Ohio indictment says the crimes there were committed against one victim between 1998 and 2002. Each of the rape charges carries a potential life sentence. Utin will be prosecuted in Virginia, Piper said, "but not until we are done with him." Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch said Wednesday that an aggressive investigation continues. Blacksburg police will bring charges against Utin "at some point," Crannis said Wednesday. "We're still accumulating information. And we're still encouraging anybody with any information to come forward." Utin, a retired teacher at Blacksburg Middle School, was arrested Sept. 18 in Blacksburg. Three days later, in an apparent suicide attempt in an Ohio jail cell, Utin suffered a serious head injury when he jumped off a sink twice, driving his head into a metal bedpost, Middletown police Sgt. John Terrill said. He was taken to Middletown Regional Hospital where his head wound was closed with 12 staples. According to a search warrant filed in Montgomery County, Utin told police he had a fixation with girls ages 3 to 9. The warrant said he admitted to "several inappropriate relationships with minors spanning a 30-year period." The warrant also said Utin told police he was extremely remorseful and had kept in touch with some victims to ensure their well-being. Police took photo albums, computers and other items from Utin's house just across Toms Creek Road from Gilbert Linkous Elementary School. A check of court files in Montgomery County showed no prior charges against Utin. Ohio police said they also found no previous charges. Utin taught science and math to Montgomery County middle schoolers from 1968 to 2003, when he retired. Afterward, Utin worked occasionally as a substitute teacher. He was known for the "dairy show" he oversaw for 30 years, taking Blacksburg sixth-graders to Virginia Tech's barns to teach them about calves. Utin also coached gymnastics and led students on stargazing trips and school sleepovers. Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Tiffany Anderson sent a letter to parents on Sept. 22 saying that "no allegations of abuse involving the individual have been reported to the current Montgomery County School Board or the current human resource department." That contrasted slightly with a letter Anderson wrote the day before that said "no incidents involving the individual have been reported to the Montgomery County School Board or human resources." Arnold Saari, superintendent of Montgomery County schools from 1974 to 1983, said no parents or students complained to him about Utin. Virgil Poore, superintendent for one year after Saari, said he received no complaints about Utin. For a short time, Utin taught Sunday school at Christ Episcopal Church. About a month ago someone complained to Christ Church interim Rector Elizabeth Morgan about an incident from 30 years ago involving Utin. Morgan declined last week to say what the incident was or to identify who reported it, but she did say it did not happen at Christ Church. In response to the complaint, Morgan said, she asked all adults in the church who work with children to fill out a self-disclosure form listing any previous crimes or allegations, as the policies of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Virginia require. It was unclear if Utin was asked to fill out a form. The church also began conducting background checks on its adult leaders, Morgan said. Church officials plan to review their response to the 30-year-old complaint to make sure all policies were followed, diocesan spokeswoman Christie Wills said. Utin was a manager at the Shawnee Swim Club for 28 years. He was fired from that job on Sept. 20 because police said he confessed to crimes against children, club president Pat Turner said Wednesday. The warrant alleges that Utin molested an Ohio girl at the swim club and at his home. In 2002, a period when the Ohio indictment says he was molesting at least one girl, Utin served as grand marshal of Blacksburg's Fourth of July parade. He won town civic beautification awards for his house and garden that year, too. A native of Oxfordshire, England, Utin was a kicker on the Virginia Tech football team from 1965 through 1967. His holder was Frank Beamer, now the Hokies' head coach. Since Wednesday's indictment, Utin has been held in the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio. • tim.thornton@roanoke.com 381-1669 • tonia.moxley@roanoke.com 381-1676
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