PROVO, Utah (ABC4) – A man has been arrested for allegedly groping two teen girls at a BYU youth summer camp on July 8.
Brigham Young University Police (BYU) have identified the suspect as 64-year-old Dennis Lee Yazzie from Blanding.
Police say Yazzie is accused of allegedly touching the breasts of two teenage girls who were participating at BYU’s Especially For Youth (EFY) Conference.
The victims are two teenage girls — a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old.
Officers arrived at the camp after a counselor reported spotting Yazzie standing in the lobby of the BYU Laundry Building.
When police approached him, Yazzie told officers he had traveled to the campus by bus from Orem and claimed he hadn’t communicated with anyone so far.
When police questioned Yazzie, he later told officers “I’m no pervert,” and mentioned he spoke with “a bunch of girls” and said “girls were everywhere.”
The 16-year-old victim told police Yazzie “appeared out of nowhere” as she was waiting in line for food. She says Yazzie walked towards her with both of his palms out while asking for money. She says he had a coin in each hand and while approaching her, “brushed against her breast” once before touching her breast a second time.
The victim says “the incident occurred so quickly, she was shocked and bothered by it.”
The second victim, a 17-year-old girl, tells police a similar story of Yazzie standing next to her in a lunch line while holding his hands out in the same palm-up fashion and asking her for money. She says Yazzie then touched her breast under her shirt.
An adult camp counselor says he witnessed Yazzie allegedly touching the 16-year-old. He says the man appeared to be homeless so the counselor approached him and mentioned the church would help him with money, but not at the ongoing youth event.
A 16-year-old male witness says Yazzie was about to touch another teenage girl before the camp counselor approached him at the time.
Yazzie was arrested on two charges of sexual battery and is currently booked at the Utah County Jail.
