Registered sex offender wearing Elmo costume arrested at Utah farmers market

LEHI, Utah — A registered sex offender in Utah who has been seen in social media posts dressed up in an Elmo costume at a local farmers market was arrested after violating his registry status, authorities said.

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Larry Neff Jarvis, 74, of Lehi was arrested Friday, according to a news release from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with one count of failing to update a sex offender registry address, a third-degree felony; and a sex offender violation in a protected area, a Class A misdemeanor.

Jarvis is one of the operators of the Lehi Farmers Market, KUTV reported.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office were assigned to investigate the farmer’s market over possible county code and zoning violations, the news release stated.

Owners of the market said they did get a permit with the Department of Agriculture, KUTV reported.

Deputies discovered that Jarvis, who lived at the farmers market, had not updated his address on the state’s sex offender registry as required by law, according to the release. Jarvis had previously had a registered address at Saratoga Springs, about 9 miles away, but had not lived there for at least three months.

Jarvis has since updated his address in the registry, records show.

Detectives also learned that the Lehi Farmers Market has an active presence on social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram, KUTV reported. In multiple postings on social media platforms, Jarvis is seen dressed as Elmo from the children’s show “Sesame Street.”

Many of the activities at the farmers market are geared toward children -- there is a petting zoo, trailers towed by tractors and “candy drops” from a helicopter, the sheriff’s office said. State law requires that a person listed on the sex offender registry must have written permission from the parents of any child to accompany the child in any activity.

Jarvis was booked into the Utah County Jail and posted $5,000 bail several hours later, online records show.

“In this case, the incident happened in 1995 in Arizona,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Spencer Cannon told KUTV. “Should a person be given the opportunity to become a productive member of society? I think yes. But at the same time, I think it’s also important to recognize that some crimes are so heinous, that we can’t forget what they did. We still give them an opportunity to become a productive member of society, but we still need to keep an eye on them.”

In a Facetime interview with the television station, Jarvis said he never meant to hide any information.

“I’ve been on this for 30 years and no other offenses. I’m trying to improve myself and be helpful to others. I really am sorry that I offended everyone and apologize for any kind of fear or undue concern that I caused them, especially for my sweet wife, and other people I know and worked with,” Jarvis told KUTV. “If they have concerns, I understand because there is such a stigma attached to the word ‘sex offender.’

“There have been no new offenses or anything like that. Never had I intended to conceal or hide anything. I’ll do whatever is necessary to make things right.”