Utah man out on bail amid accusations of ritualistic child sex abuse

A court in Utah has approved $100,000 bail for a former psychotherapist charged with multiple counts of child abuse and accused of participating in satanic cult activity for decades within the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) community. 

According to ABC4, Judge Roger Griffin recommended the bail on March 6, and it was approved on Wednesday despite opposition from a community petition. As of Thursday, the Change.org petition had 825 signatures and noted David Hamblin’s long history of abuse allegations, which include multiple felony charges of child sex crimes. 

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office (UCSO), which announced charges against Hamblin last fall, told LifeSiteNews it would prefer that Hamblin stayed in prison. “We would rather Mr. Hamblin remain incarcerated instead of being granted bail,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon on Thursday. “But we comply with the orders of the court.” 

Hamblin is reportedly required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and surrender his passport to the defense counsel. Hamblin’s attorney had argued unsuccessfully that the state failed to provide sufficient evidence that he was a danger to the community or a flight risk.