Former employee at two Utah school districts arrested for enticing a minor, documents say

LEHI, Utah (ABC4) — A former employee of two Utah school districts was arrested after engaging in a sexually explicit conversation with an undercover officer he believed to be a 13-year-old girl on social media.

John Royal Belliston, 40, of Cottonwood Heights, is facing felony charges of enticing a minor and distributing material harmful to a minor.

During the past week, according to documents, a Lehi Police officer was undercover on social media as a 13-year-old female child. While searching for leads, the undercover officer located a post from Belliston, allegedly asking, “Who wants to come play with a teacher?”

From the undercover account, the officer messaged Belliston and engaged in a “casual conversation,” documents say. Belliston told the officer, whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, that he was a 10th-12th-grade teacher and taught English and theatre.

From that point, Belliston turned the conversation toward being sexual. He allegedly sent graphic sexual photos of himself to the undercover officer and asked for photos in return. The officer sent a fake photo.

Belliston allegedly told the 13-year-old that he wanted to engage in illegal sexual relations with her. After the undercover officer didn’t send another picture when Belliston requested it, he blocked the 13-year-old’s account.

During the officer’s investigation into Belliston, he reportedly discovered that Belliston was not currently employed at a school, but he was previously employed at two school districts in Utah.

Belliston was arrested on June 23 and booked into the Utah County Jail. Charges have not been filed yet.