Interview With Police Reveals Small Discrepancy in Sterling Van Wagenen's Story

Days after molesting David, Van Wagenen’s son's friend, Sterling Van Wagenen turned himself into police at  the Salt Lake County Sheriff's office. In a transcript obtained by Truth & Transparency, Van Wagenen implies he was encouraged to turn himself in by his therapist in Provo, Utah. The name of the therapist is either redacted or was not mentioned, but it is suspected to be David Hamblin who was mentioned in a police report previously released by Truth & Transparency.

This contradicts Van Wagenen’s statement made to David in a recording released by Truth & Transparency earlier this month, in which he said his Mormon Stake President and then the Commissioner of LDS Social Services, Harold Brown, directed Van Wagenen to contact the police. It is entirely possible that both cases are true.

In the interview with police, Van Wagenen struggled to describe the incident. He said he touched David's penis over the clothing. The detective then suggested the word “pat” as the motion used and Van Wagenen agreed. The survivor, David, denies this and claimed it was a stroking motion under the clothing.

In the transcript, Van Wagenen also states he reported the incident to Bill Alder at Child Protective Services.