For years, Utah has allowed government officials to do what other states have prohibited: require people who report sexual assault to take polygraph tests.
That changes quickly. Earlier this month, the state Legislature passed a bill that would prohibit police and other government officials from requiring polygraph tests from alleged victims of sexual assault. Gov. Spencer Cox signed the bill Thursday and it goes into effect in May.
Experts say such tests are known to be particularly unreliable for victims of sexual abuse. That’s because victims may be stressed or anxious about recounting their assault, which could be interpreted by a lie detector as deception. Other states do not allow its use on assault victims for this reason.
It took two years and three Congresses for House Minority Leader Utah Representative Angela Romero to pass the bill. When she first sponsored it in 2024, she cited reports from the Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica and told her fellow lawmakers about the negative impact polygraph tests have on people who report sexual abuse.
In the case, which was covered by news outlets, a state licenser required a man to submit to a polygraph test after reporting that therapist Scott Owen had inappropriate contact with him. Test results showed he was deceptive, which led to the patient’s complaint being dropped. Owen was allowed to continue practicing for two more years until others came forward with similar allegations. Owen admitted to sexually abusing patients and is currently in prison.
Romero said in a recent interview that he is determined to pick up the bill for the former patient.
“For me, it was really about that one individual who was unbelievable,” Romero said. “Their perpetrators then continued to harm others.”
Cox signed the bill in a small ceremony in his office, telling Romero: “She has been a great advocate, making a difference and saving lives.” The governor also gave a nod to Tribune and ProPublica reporting pushing for change.
Gov. Spencer Cox signed the polygraph law and praised the Democratic supporter for “making a difference and saving lives.” Utah Governor’s Office
Provo police began investigating Owen in 2023 after the Tribune and ProPublica published an article detailing various sexual assault allegations from a man who took a polygraph test and was identified in previous reports under the pseudonym Andrew.
Former patients who spoke to news outlets said they sought help from Owen because he was a therapist and had built a reputation as an expert who could help gay men who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They allege inappropriate touching occurred during those sessions, some of which were paid for with church funds.
Half of the states have laws that explicitly prohibit law enforcement from administering polygraph tests to people who report sexual assault. Some go further, prohibiting a broader group of public officials beyond law enforcement from requesting that an alleged sexual assault victim undergo a sexual assault.
Romero’s bill has received support from prosecutors and police each session she has proposed, but has also faced pushback from defense attorneys and some lawmakers who want to keep polygraph tests optional because there are often no other witnesses in sexual assault charges.
Polygraph test results are unreliable and are not admissible in court. But Steve Burton of the Utah Public Defenders Association said at a recent legislative hearing that it’s still worthwhile for prosecutors and investigators to consider these consequences before deciding whether to file criminal charges.
“This is often one of the only things a defense attorney can ask for or use to show that their client may be telling the truth,” he said.
Romero rejected that idea, saying there are other types of interview techniques that authorities can use to determine whether someone’s account is true.
“This is not the method,” she said. “This is especially true if you are dealing with someone who has been victimized. It can re-victimize that person. It can also discourage that person from participating in the process of criminally prosecuting the perpetrator in the future.”
“Worst thing I’ve ever experienced”
Reports in the Tribune and ProPublica revealed the negative impact polygraph tests had on the man who reported Owen to the state’s licensor.
Andrew, who has not been identified under a pseudonym to protect his privacy, said he was sexually abused by therapist Scott Owen. (Objects in this image have been darkened and blurred to protect Andrew’s identity.) Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune
Andrew reported Owen to the Utah Department of Occupational Licenses in 2016. As part of the investigation, the licensor offered both Andrew and Owen polygraph tests.
Owen refused. Andrew agreed, recalling that investigators told him that the death essentially reinforced one person’s words against another.
But Andrew said polygraph results suggested he was being deceptive. Polygraph tests generally have the ability to record signs of internal stress that suggest someone is not telling the truth.
“It was very traumatizing for me,” he told the Tribune and ProPublica. “So certainly when they ask me questions about certain things that happened during therapy, it’s going to trigger a very strong emotional response.”
The outcome affected his mental health and he told investigators he no longer wanted to press charges.
During a public reprimand from the licensor in 2016, Owen admitted to hugging Andrew — a touch he called inappropriate but “non-sexual.” Andrew reported that during the session, Owen groped him, asked him to take off his clothes, and kissed him.
DOPL officials said they believe they responded appropriately to the complaints. However, Andrew’s interactions with investigators suggest that the authorities’ decision not to discipline Owen more harshly was based primarily on his denials and Andrew’s polygraph results.
Owen pled guilty to a felony in February 2025, admitting that he sexually abused two patients and led them to believe the sexual contact was part of their treatment. He did not contest the third patient’s case.
Andrew was one of more than half a dozen men (mostly former patients) who spoke at Owen’s sentencing hearing a month later about how Owen had harmed them.
“My experience with Scott Owen was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced,” Andrew said. “I don’t think he belongs to society anymore.”
The judge sentenced Owen to at least 15 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at Utah Central Prison.
new national task force
The state is also addressing some of the shortcomings identified by the Tribune and ProPublica in other ways. It would create a task force to investigate the rise in complaints of sexual misconduct against certified professionals by state licensors. The task force will focus on health care, mental health and massage therapy, which state officials say have historically accounted for the highest rates of sexual misconduct complaints.
News outlets reported that more than one-third of mental health professionals disciplined by licensors since 2012 were accused of sexual misconduct. In 2023, DOPL spokeswoman Melanie Hall said DOPL recognizes that certain types of licenses are “prone to certain types of violations.” The agency “considers these factors when investigating complaints and takes appropriate disciplinary action where appropriate,” she said.
The task force, announced earlier this month, will focus on proposing changes to the law and creating resources to make it easier for victims to report misconduct to the state.
There are also plans to develop a standardized process for sharing reports between agencies that may have knowledge of the accusations, although this is not currently legally required. The Tribune and ProPublica highlighted this gap in coverage of Owen’s case. Andrew and at least two others reported Owen to DOPL, but the licensor never shared those reports with Provo police.
Margaret Busse is the executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, which has jurisdiction over DOPL. She said in a statement that licensed professionals who engage in sexual misconduct violate not only the trust of their clients, but also the public’s trust in their profession.
“These heinous acts cause significant harm to the victims and tarnish the reputation of the entire industry,” she said. “This task force is our unequivocal declaration: Utah will hold licensed professionals accountable to protect the health of our communities and state-regulated industries.”
