Arrest made in underage sex case
Volunteer women’s rugby coach Tara Earl, 29, was arrested Thursday, Nov. 10 in connection to claims that she had sexual interactions with a 17-year-old Lehi girl.
“According to the victim, the two of them met in the summer of 2010 during a rugby tournament, or a rugby game, up at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy,” Lehi Police Lt. Darren Paul said.
Lehi Police received a delayed report Oct. 31 of a sex abuse case in which Earl was a person of interest, Paul said.
Paul said Earl, then 28, and the victim engaged in sexual conduct prior to Earl’s tenure as volunteer rugby coach for USU. The fact that the victim was 17 at the time makes the crime a third degree felony, Paul added.
“Investigators talked to the victim, got the information and then they interviewed Tara up at her home in Smithfield,” Paul said. “After interviewing her, they took her into custody and booked her into the Utah County Jail on four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 or 17 year old.”
After they met, Earl and the victim began a relationship through social media and texting, Paul said. At one point Earl arranged for the 17-year-old to come to USU campus for Diversity Week in November 2010, but nothing criminal happened until December, Paul said.
“According to the victim, she went up to the USU campus,” Paul said. “She was there with Tara, she spent the day up there, nothing happened criminally on the campus according to the victim.”
Paul said the relationship became physical in December 2010 at a hotel in Lehi. He said another incident occurred on New Year’s Eve, and he does not know why the alleged victim waited until October to report the incidents.
University spokesperson Tim Vitale said USU Administration acted as soon as it heard of Earl’s arrest.
“She has been removed from her position as volunteer coach of the rugby team,” Vitale said.
Vitale said Earl is currently still a student at USU, but she will not be allowed to coach the club sport, because she would be working with other students on campus.
He said he doesn’t know why Earl brought the alleged victim to USU for Diversity Week last year, but he was sure it wasn’t for recruitment purposes, because club sports do not recruit or offer scholarships.
“Women’s rugby is a student club sport, so it’s under campus recreation,” Vitale said. “It’s not part of our athletics programs.”
Earl started volunteering as a coach this semester, Vitale said. “The incidents that are alleged all happened in the past when she was not part of the rugby team at any official capacity,” he said.
According to Scott Wamsley, director of club sports, the adviser for men and women’s rugby will replace Earl as the interim coach. He said the adviser Dennis Kohlar coached rugby at USU in the past.
“I think he was the coach the last year or two and has coached rugby for a long time here at Utah State,” Wamsley said. “(Kohlar) is going to just step in and coach this final game this fall.”
Wamsley said the women’s rugby team won’t “miss a beat” when it comes to coaching, and it is up to the rugby team to decide what to do as far as future coaching is concerned.
According to Wamsley, women’s rugby like many club sports uses volunteer coaches from within the team.
– chris.w.lee@aggiemail.usu.edu