SOUTH WILLARD, Utah — The case of a former Utah Highway Patrol trooper charged with lewdness and dealing in materials harmful to minors has the attention of several South Willard parents who have children who go to school in the area.
Robert Nelson is due in court Monday after he was charged last month for allegedly inviting a teenage girl into his home, and then showing her a pornographic image on his laptop, asking if she wanted to watch.
According to his indictment, when the girl declined and left the home, Nelson was then accused of watching her mow the lawn while performing a sexual act on himself.
When neighbors in South Willard heard about the allegations, several of them called the Box Elder County School District with another concern: the school bus stop in front of Nelson's home that had been there for a while.
Parents wanted the bus stop changed.
“We had multiple parents that called in and were concerned about it," said Jamie Kent with the Box Elder School District.
"We got lots of mama bears up here!” said one parent who wanted to remain anonymous. “It’s very serious, and we are here to look after all of our kids.”
That self-proclaimed mama bear is grateful school district officials were listening.
“Our director of transportation was able to look at it and make some changes in the bus route, so the students didn’t have to stand right in front of the house," explained Kent.
Ashley is another neighbor who says parents only wanted to act with an overabundance of caution due to the lewdness allegations against Nelson, and that school kids had been waiting for their bus right in front of his home.
“We just have to make sure this man is not a danger to our community and we need to make sure the kids are safe,” said Ashley, a neighborhood resident and parent.
“We were not aware of the situation," added Kent, "and so we needed to be made aware, and I’m just glad that we were able to find a solution to it.”
