03/29/2025
"The fact that the court dismissed with prejudice these charges against David Hamblin without one word of testimony from the victim or the investigators is abhorrent."
David Hamblin Press Release
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office was shocked to learn that the court dismissed a case against David Hamblin with prejudice based on so-called “discovery abuses.” The Utah County Sheriff’s Office disputes several of the alleged facts that the court included as support for this outcome in its Ruling and Order. Contrary to that ruling, the Sheriff’s Office timely provided prosecutors with all evidence related to this case so that they could disclose it under the rules of discovery in criminal cases.
During the court process, the defendant’s attorney repeatedly raised several questions about alleged failures to disclose evidence, including the victim’s statements and correspondence between the victim and investigators. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office anticipated that the Court would resolve these issues at an evidentiary hearing where investigators could detail the evidence they had provided to the prosecution and answer any relevant concerns about the process of disclosure. The Sheriff’s Office further anticipated that the prosecution would itself take the opportunity to detail what evidence it had provided to the defense and when it had provided that evidence. But a careful examination of all the court records will clearly show that at no time were investigators nor the victim given the opportunity to present any evidence to the court to refute the defense allegations of delay and improper withholding of evidence. An evidentiary hearing was never requested, and thus never occurred. Consequently, the Court was left to adjudicate these issues based on a one-sided presentation of these issues by the defense. This complete lack of due process resulting in the dismissal of heinous charges of s*x abuse of a child based on an incomplete evidentiary picture is extremely concerning.
Had an evidentiary hearing been held, the Sheriff’s Office believes that its investigators would have been able to demonstrate that they had timely provided all relevant evidence to prosecution. For example, the court would have learned that on October 4th, 2023, the previous prosecutor’s office reviewed with the defense all the evidence that had been provided, and the defense attorney acknowledged that they had received everything. Despite this acknowledgment, the defense later alleged that a specific report detailing an interview with the victim had been withheld. The court relied on this allegation to support its dismissal order. But the Sheriff’s Office had sent this specific report, along with the entirety of this case, to the prosecutor in September of 2022, shortly following David Hamblin’s arrest. In fact, on Feb. 5th, 2025, the prosecutor confirmed that all discovery, including this specific report, had been disseminated. The court also relied on a statement from investigators allegedly expressing disappointment that they were required to provide discovery before a preliminary hearing was held in this case. But that statement was taken wholly out of context and had nothing to do with providing evidence to the defense. Rather, investigators were expressing disappointment only that certain evidence had been made available to the public. These facts refute the Court’s assertion that the Sheriff’s Office was attempting to delay disclosing evidence in any way.
The court also relied on a concern that the defense raised concerning certain statements made by the victim. But had an evidentiary hearing been held, the victim could have provided critical context necessary to resolve the issues raised by the defense. Again, neither the investigators nor the victim was ever given the opportunity to explain themselves or address the defense allegations.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office is committed to investigating s*xual assaults and all crimes against children whether they occurred recently or years ago. The life altering impact on child victims is the same. The fact that the court dismissed with prejudice these charges against David Hamblin without one word of testimony from the victim or the investigators is abhorrent.
