EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah — A man who worked as a counselor at a local high school has pleaded not guilty to accusations that he tried to entice a minor last year.
Chad Kennington Wilkes, 47, was charged in August with three misdemeanor counts of enticing a minor. He had a hearing on Monday, in which he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the time of his arrest, Wilkes lived in Eagle Mountain and was a counselor at the Jordan Academy for Technology and Careers. He was previously a counselor at Copper Hills High School. The Jordan School District told FOX 13 News that he no longer works for them as of last August.
Lehi Police said Wilkes was chatting online with an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl. Police said he told "her" that he wanted to have sex with her and engage in other sexual activities, using graphic language.
Wilkes reportedly told the "girl" that he wanted to meet in person to verify that she was real.
However, according to court documents, Wilkes later told her that he "cannot risk getting in trouble being with someone so young" and ultimately deleted the messaging app.
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The arrest report said Wilkes' account on the app showed his phone number, which led them to identify him as the suspect.
When talking to police, Wilkes claimed that he didn't think he was messaging a real underage girl and that he thought it was only roleplay.
"Though Chad did not ultimately meet with the child in this case," the arresting officer wrote, "it is feared if given an opportunity, whether online or in his place of work being a high school, Chad would engage in illegal sexual activity with a minor."
