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YouTuber Behind Finding Bodies In High-Profile Missing Person Cases Charged With Child Rape
Utah officials charged "Adventures with Purpose" founder Jared Leisek with two counts of child rape after he allegedly raped a 9- or 10-year-old relative back in 1992.
One of the founding members of a group credited for solving many high-profile missing person cases is now accused of child rape.
Jared Leisek, 47, was charged with two counts of first-degree child rape stemming from two alleged occasions in 1992, according to Sanpete County court records obtained by Oxygen.com. Officials in Utah say Leisik “did have sexual intercourse with a child who is under the age of 14,” a victim related to the accused.
So far, Leisek is not in custody, Sanpete Deputy County Attorney Arek E. Butler told Oxygen.com.
“Mr. Leisek was not arrested given the fact that he lives out of the state of Utah and the crime occurred 30 years ago,” Butler stated. “Instead, he was served a summons to appear at an initial appearance hearing that will be held on Nov. 30.”
According to a probable cause statement by Ephraim City Police Detective Corey Devon Krebs, Leisik is accused of raping a female relative sometime between Oct. 1, 1992 and Nov. 1, 1992 at her home in Ephraim, Utah, about 75 miles south of Provo.
Leisek would have been 17 at the time, while the child was then 9 or 10 years old.
Leisek allegedly entered the child’s bedroom, “pinned the victim to the ground” and raped her, according to court records signed by County Attorney Butler.
Additionally, in 1992, Leisek is accused of raping the same minor relative, this time at a family member’s home in Manti, just south of Ephraim.
The state of Utah does not have a statute of limitations for child sex crimes.
Leisek is one of several men behind the Bend, Oregon-based group “Adventures with Purpose,” a search and recovery group dedicated to finding missing persons. According to their website, the dive team — which has nearly three million followers on their YouTube channel — is behind solving 26 cold cases since they banded in 2019.
Their work was pivotal in many high-profile cases, including that of missing teen Kiely Rodni, whose body was found in a car submerged in a California reservoir in August. Another was the case of James Amabile, who was found with his car in a Pennsylvania creek nearly 20 years after his disappearance.
Neither “Adventures with Purpose” nor Jared Leisek responded to requests from Oxygen.com by the time of publication.
Jared Leisek created a website in 2017, writing at length about his life, beginning with, “I live my life as an open book with no skeletons.” He described being in the foster care system as a child before being taken in by his grandparents, as well as his later years of homelessness.
Leisek married his high school sweetheart, with whom he shares two daughters, according to the webpage. Leisek explained he is also estranged from another daughter, who was born after he “had a fling” while still in high school.
Leisek and his wife were still married by 2020, according to his Facebook page, though his social media has not been regularly updated.
In April, CBS Portland affiliate KOIN presented Leisek with their 2022 Royal Rosarian Newsmaker award after he and “Adventures with Purpose” members Doug Bishop and Scott Hulbert helped find the body of missing father Antonio Amaro-Lopez.
Court records show Leisek is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 30 by video conference.
Requests to his Utah-based attorney were not immediately returned to Oxygen.com.
News surrounding the recent child sex crime charges is still developing.
