Jayden Parker Sever, 20, has been charged with attempted rape and object rape of two elderly women.
The alleged crimes were committed while Sever worked as a caregiver at Spring Gardens Senior Living in Heber.
He told an investigator from the Utah attorney general’s office that he had sexually abused two women in the memory care unit, both in their 80s, both with advanced dementia, in February and March 2024.
The Utah attorney general’s office began an investigation after Sever told his father, Heber Police Chief Parker Sever, what he had done.
“This behavior, these crimes that he committed, are not something that I ever thought that he was capable of,” Chief Sever said. “He confessed them to me and I reported him to the attorney general’s office for criminal charges. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the crime.”
He said his son’s actions were unjustifiable.
“I love my son Jayden, but I’m disgusted by his behavior,” he said.
Jayden Sever told an investigator he had been struggling with “lust” and thought he wouldn’t be caught sexually assaulting residents at Spring Gardens.
Sever was terminated from the care facility for unrelated reasons in early March.
Investigators also interviewed managers and other employees at Spring Gardens about the abuse. Representatives from Spring Gardens did not immediately respond to KPCW’s request for comment.
Jayden Sever’s father, Parker Sever, was sworn in as Heber’s new chief of police in October 2023.
Jayden Sever was arrested July 19 in Heber and charged with two first-degree felony counts. He is being held without bail in the Utah County Jail.
