Overview

• A Utah County deputy posing as a father on a social app said Joel Thomas Covington expressed sexual interest in an 8-year-old and arranged a meeting for sex.
• The deputy identified him as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and arrested him in his Lehi workplace parking lot due to his position of trust.
• Covington was booked into Utah County Jail for investigation of enticing a minor, and the affidavit asked that he be held without bail.
• He allegedly admitted to the messages, described them as a way to fulfill sexual desires, claimed he would not have acted, and referenced similar online conversations over about a decade along with deleted child sexual abuse material.
• As of publication, prosecutors had not filed formal charges, and his listed employer declined to comment.