Convicted sex offender charged in fourth case, allegedly sexually abused a 13-year-old

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A St. George man who was previously convicted of sex crimes three times, including two cases with minors, has been charged again. He is accused of grooming and sexually abusing a 13-year-old in 2021.

Avery Jared Anderson, 23, has been charged with two counts of rape of a child, two counts of enticing a minor with first-degree felony sexual activity, and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.

According to court documents, in April 2025, a 16-year-old contacted the St. George City Police Department to report that she had been sexually abused by an adult man when she was 13 years old. The police performed an interview with the teen at the Washington County Children’s Justice Center.

During the interview, the 16-year-old explained that she had allegedly met Anderson when she was 13 years old and he was 19 years old on social media. After that, she reported that Anderson picked her up from her residence and drove her to the parking lot of a store in St. George.

The underage victim reported that Anderson had sex with her, and didn’t initially listen to her requests to stop. According to the documents, the minor told him “no” again, and he stopped; then he dropped her back off at her house.

On a separate occasion, the then 13-year-old invited Anderson to her home while her mother was gone. A similar encounter allegedly happened, where Anderson sexually abused the underage girl and did not immediately listen to her requests to stop when she experienced pain or became uncomfortable.

Police obtained Snapchat conversations between the victim and Anderson. The chats began in October of 2021, and officers located messages where Anderson “referenced his sexual encounter” with the underage girl. He also requested sexual images of the child on at least two occasions.

In the Snapchat conversations, officers also located messages where Anderson was trying to entice the 13-year-old to engage in sexual relations and was sending graphic descriptions of sexual activities to the minor.

Anderson was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail on Aug. 21, where he is currently being held without bail. Following his arrest, Anderson was also charged with four counts of failing to register as a sex offender.

Last year, Anderson pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual activity with a minor and aggravated assault. That case involved a different 13-year-old female, whom he sexually assaulted in early 2021. His initial charge in that case was rape, but the charge was amended through a plea deal.

In March 2023, Anderson was charged in another case of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, and the two charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor were dismissed without prejudice through a plea deal.

In a November 2022 case, Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of forcible sexual abuse of a woman he met on a dating app. He was initially charged with rape and aggravated assault, but those charges were amended through a plea deal as well.