Registered sex offender in Elmo costume arrested at Lehi Farmers Market
LEHI, Utah (KUTV) — A man seen in social media posts dressed up in an Elmo costume at the Lehi Farmers Market, was arrested after violating his sex offender registry status.
Larry Neff Jarvis, 74, of Utah County near Lehi was booked into jail on Friday by detectives with the Utah County Sheriff's Office Special Victims Unit.
Jarvis, who is a registered sex offender listed on the Utah Sex Offender Registry, is one of the operators of the Lehi Farmers Market.
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The investigation into the farmer's market has been ongoing for years, but last week, the Utah County Sheriff's Office got involved. Detective with the Utah County Sheriff's Office looked into reports of the market's non-compliance with county regulations. The Lehi Farmers Market says they did get a permit with the Department of Agriculture.
According to a press release by Utah County officials, during the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Jarvis, who lives at the location of the Lehi Farmers Market, had not updated his address on the sex offender registry as required by law, despite not residing at his registered address in Saratoga Springs for at least three months.
The press release states that detectives found that the Lehi Farmers Market had active social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram, where Jarvis was seen in multiple postings dressed as the character Elmo from the popular children's show "Sesame Street".
The market's activities, such as a petting zoo, tractor-towed trailer rides, and "candy drops" from a helicopter, are all for children that Jarvis took part in.
"Utah law requires that a person on the Sex Offender Registry have written permission from the parents of any child being accompanied by that person," a press release states.
Jarvis was arrested on charges related to failing to update his sex offender registry address, a third-degree felony, and sex offender violation in a protected area, a class A misdemeanor.
He was booked into the Utah County Jail and later posted a $5,000 bond, leading to his release a few hours after his booking.
KUTV spoke with the Utah County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, Spencer Cannon. He says, "In this case, the incident happened in 1995 in Arizona. Should a person be given the opportunity to become a productive member of society? I think yes. But at the same time, I think it's also important to recognize that some crimes are so heinous, that we can't forget what they did. We still give them an opportunity to become a productive member of society, but we still need to keep an eye on them."
Larry Jarvis also agreed to Facetime with KUTV. Jarvis says, "I've been on this for 30 years and no other offenses. I'm trying to improve myself and be helpful to others. I really am sorry that I offended everyone and apologize for any kind of fear or undue concern that I caused them, especially for my sweet wife, and other people I know and worked with."
"If they have concerns, I understand because there is such a stigma attached to the word sex offender," he adds. "There have been no new offenses or anything like that. Never had I intended to conceal or hide anything. I'll do whatever is necessary to make things right."
