ST. GEORGE — A staff member of a residential youth crisis center on St. George Boulevard arrested last week for suspected child abuse is back in jail after reportedly applying to another juvenile facility in Washington County using false information, police said.
On Wednesday, 29-year-old Henry Chism Okwori, of St. George, was arrested and booked into jail facing identity fraud and forgery, each a third-degree felony.
The charges were filed following an investigation into a report alleging that Okwori had possibly used fraudulent information when applying for a position at Liahona Academy in Hurricane, where he had yet to begin work due to an issue with the suspect’s background check.
St. George Police detectives tasked with following up on the information contacted Liahona’s human resources department and learned that Okwori’s background check could not be completed, which was unusual, the report states.
Okwori had already undergone a prior check while working at Cinnamon Hills. Had his paperwork contained accurate information, then it should have pulled the records used by his previous employer, but that did not happen in this case, officers noted.
Detectives spoke to an investigator with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services Licensing Division who said she had obtained the suspect’s employment records from three youth facilities operating in Washington County. Two of the records contained the same social security number, while the application for Liahona listed a different number, causing the investigator to suspect the application contained fraudulent information.
On April 23, detectives obtained copies of the suspect’s employment application for the Liahona Academy that confirmed the suspect had reportedly listed a different social security number on the application and they also obtained copies of the identifying documents used in the process.
When investigators looked at the copy of the social security card, they noted there were security features that were missing, such as a tamper-proof background with a pattern that would only be noticeable if the card was photocopied, which in this case it was.
A check of the social security number used in the Liahona application indicated the number belonged to an individual living in another state. When contacted, the person confirmed they had never attempted to gain employment in Utah, nor did they give anyone else permission to use their social security number.
Officers also noticed the suspect’s middle name that was listed on the copy of his Utah driver’s license was misspelled. During a series of records checks, detectives also learned that Okwori had a valid driver’s license that was due to expire in December, while the driver’s license used in the Liahona application had a different issue and expiration date.
The photo on the driver’s license was also different than the one maintained in the DMV database, as was the the social security number.
On Wednesday, officers responded to the suspect’s home in St. George and Okwori was taken into custody and booked into jail on $5,000 bail. This was the second arrest for the suspect in less than a week.
On April 18, Okwori was arrested facing for suspected child abuse following a report alleging he had assaulted a juvenile resident at Cinnamon Hills Youth Crisis Center in St. George, where the suspect was a staff member at the facility.
The incident took place on March 13, while Okwori was supervising the youth and became upset over something the juvenile had said. At some point, Okwori reportedly grabbed the youth by the face and neck and pushed the juvenile who fell backwards and struck his head on the metal bed frame. From there, a physical struggle between the two ensued until other staff members intervened, physically separating the two and Okwori was removed from the immediate area. The youth sustained swelling and redness from minor injuries.
An internal investigation was conducted by the youth facility following the incident and Okwori’s employment ended at that facility on March 14, according to a statement released to St. George News by Cinnamon Hills following the arrest last week.
Within a few weeks of his termination the suspect was applying at the Liahona Academy in Hurricane — and six days later he would be arrested for the incident at Cinnamon Hills.
The case involving the application to Liahona was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office on Thursday and both cases are still pending in the courts.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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