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Frank James Harvey

On the evening of March 24, 1987, a six-year-old girl known as T.H. was abducted while attending her sister’s gymnastics competition at a middle school in Garland, Utah. Eight hours later, T.H. was located about 90 miles away, in Malta, Idaho. She said the man who abducted her had sexually assaulted her and then dropped her off at a grocery store with a dime and instructions to call her parents. She provided a description of her abductor’s four-door blue car, his brown “wiener dog,” and his heavy smoking, and she stated that he “talked funny.”

The following day, 45-year-old Frank James Harvey was arrested at a highway rest stop near Brigham City, Utah. Harvey, who drove a blue car and had a dachshund riding along with him, described himself as a transient person who was looking for work in the area. He had no criminal record. Harvey’s car and dog fit the descriptions provided by the girl, but when she viewed Harvey in a lineup, she did not identify him. Nonetheless, Harvey was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse of a child, to which he pleaded not guilty.

In August 1987, Harvey’s case went to trial, with the girl’s testimony serving as the primary evidence against him. The jury convicted Harvey on both charges, and he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Some time later, Tremonton, Utah police detective Robert Howe and another officer, stopped to inspect a vehicle stopped on the side of the road late at night in Tremonton. The driver, 31-year-old Thomas Headley told the officers about a violent hitchhiker. Headley was asked to provide a voluntary statement about the situation and he agreed.

Coincidentally, Howe was the officer who had taken the initial report from T.H. Howe began similarities in T.H.’s description of abductor to Treadway. Howe also recalled that when Harvey was arrested, he was not wearing brown pants and a yellow shirt as T.H. had described.

As Howe looked at Headley completing his statement, he noticed a dachshund, a very messy interior--magazines all over the back seat, an overflowing ashtray. The car was blue. Howe then noticed that Headley was wearing brown pants and a yellow shirt. In fact, Headley worked at Snowville Service, near where T.H. was released from her abductor. Snowville Service uniforms consisted of brown pants and a yellow shirt.

Soon after his conviction, Harvey filed a motion for a new trial. On January 8, 1988, his motion was granted. Both the circumstantial nature of the evidence against Harvey and the jury having been permitted to view Harvey in shackles provided the basis for granting a new trial.

In addition, Sergeant Ken Adams of the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Department testified that Headley had been newly identified as a suspect in the abduction and assault. Following this testimony, First District Court Judge Gordon Low ordered the release of Harvey pending his new trial.

In a police lineup, T.H. identified Headley as the man who had abducted and assaulted her. On June 2, 1988, Headley, who was on probation for an unrelated offense, was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of child, child kidnapping, and aggravated kidnapping. Following Headley’s arraignment, all charges against Harvey were dismissed.

In May 1989, Headley’s trial ended in a mistrial because the jury was unable to reach a verdict. After her daughter had been through the ordeal of two trials, T.H.’s mother said, “I’d just like this whole thing to be done.” Ultimately, the charges against Headley were dismissed following the mistrial.

After Harvey’s release, he said, “Even though I’m cleared, I don’t feel like I’ve been cleared. A lot of people still think I am guilty. I can’t get good work just because of my name alone. This all made my dad have three heart attacks, and made my parents spend their life savings.”

Harvey filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Box Elder County, its sheriff’s department, and two of its deputies. Harvey sought at least $50,000. “They don't deserve to be public servants,” he said. “They covered up the color of my dog and didn't let the little girl see it in court. My dog is black and tan, and I understand the other fellow's is a reddish brown - the color of dog she said the kidnapper had.”

The lawsuit was dismissed in October 1990, with Judge Bruce Jenkins finding that relief for Harvey’s wrongful conviction should be sought in state court, not federal. “That the plaintiff should be compensated in some way is obvious,” Judge Jenkins stated. “But the remedy, whatever it may be, is not to be found in this court.”

In 1992, Headley pled guity and was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison after he was charged with abducting and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

- Meghan Barrett Cousino

State:UT
County:Box Elder
Most Serious Crime:Child Sex Abuse
Reported Crime Date:1987
Convicted:1987
Exonerated:1988
Sentence:16 years
Race/Ethnicity:Don't Know
Sex:Male
Age at the date of crime:45
Contributing Factors: