Defense attorneys for former Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office employee Mitchell McKee, 59, have made a motion to dismiss all 10 felony sex charges.
A former sex therapist working in Provo who was also employed for administrative services in the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, McKee was arrested on March 20, 2024, when Heber City Police identified McKee following an investigation involving felony sex crimes. Police began the investigation when a 15 year old who was involved in a January 2023 traffic stop said that he engaged in sexual activity with an older man in exchange for vape pens and alcohol.
Internet Crimes Against Children agents executed a search warrant on McKee’s home in March, when they uncovered “age-difficult” photos of nude males on electronic devices.
McKee is currently charged with two first-degree felony counts of human trafficking of a child, two first-degree felony counts of forcible sodomy, one first degree felony count of enticing a minor, two second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse, two second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one third-degree felony count of dealing in materials harmful to a minor.
Brad Henderson and Andrew McAdams, defense attorneys for McKee, filed the motion to dismiss all 10 charges on Aug. 20. They allege there has been a failure to provide requested information or evidence.
“Mr. McKee is presumed innocent and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The charges and the government’s allegations are based on an incomplete investigation and withheld exculpatory evidence,” a statement from Henderson and McAdams reads. “The defense has a right to all exculpatory evidence, and it should have been provided a long time ago. It is in this light that we filed our motion to dismiss for failure to provide discovery.
Ian Ross of the Utah Attorney General’s Office did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.